Shattered
by ElspethQ
Summary: It's been a couple of months since Temperance was buried alive and she's been acting funny. Booth has come to the realization that something isn't right and the closer he tries to get to his girlfriend the further away she pushes him. What's going on? Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Booth returned to his apartment and kicked off his shoes. He checked his house phone for messages and there were none. Again, he called Brennan's phone and it went straight to voicemail. Pacing he waited to leave another message.

"Bones, it's me again. Listen, I don't know what happened but whatever it is we can talk about it. I mean, if you got scared or whatever, it's okay. We can talk about it. Just call me back when you get this."

He flipped the phone closed and leaned his head against the doorframe to his bedroom. His head was telling him that she got scared and backed out of their date but his gut was telling him something was wrong. Deciding to go with his gut he slipped his sneakers on and headed back out. He drove passed her apartment but her car was not there. He drove to the Jeffersonian and her car was not there.

"Damn it, Bones. Where are you?" He muttered to himself.

Knowing Brennan the way he did he knew that if she didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be, and she was definitely hiding from him. Why wouldn't she? She did stand him up after all and he spent two hours waiting on her in that little restaurant. Try as he might he couldn't be angry at her. She had been through a lot in the past few months and it was beginning to wear on her. She had survived being buried alive a little over three months ago and to the best of his knowledge she was still suffering nightmares from it. Her father's reappearance into her life was causing its own havoc in its only little corner or her mind. Then to top it off Booth had been glued to her lately. Somewhere between the chaos and the nightmares he slipped up and kissed her. He was afraid she was going to run when he had but was pleasantly surprised when she kissed him back. They had agreed to try seeing each other on a more intimate level and then she pulled back.

It was hard to notice at first because she pulled back from everybody about two months ago. She covered it well by throwing herself into her work, but Booth noticed the subtle changes of her pulling back in to herself. That was her coping mechanism. If she needed space and time he would give it to her, he was a patient man. She seemed fine otherwise, but leaving him sitting in a restaurant for two hours without even calling him with a bad excuse was cowardice and Bones was not a coward. So the question that still lingered was, was she okay? His gut was telling him she was in trouble and she had a bad habit of getting herself in to trouble.

Pulling into a parking spot at the Washington Memorial he scanned the lot for her car but it was not here either. Not sure of where else she would go he flipped open his phone and dialed it.

"Hey, Agent Studly, what's the matter? Bren too much to handle?" Angela joked as she answered the phone.

"That's not funny, Ange. Bones never showed up. Have you heard from her?" He asked, his voice quiet and controlled.

"Not since this morning. She mentioned going to get her hair done before your big date." Angela replied. "It's not like Bren to simply not show. She usually will call or something. That's not like her, Booth. You of all people should know that." Angela spoke up.

"You would think that wouldn't you. " Booth said dryly. "She's not exactly been acting herself lately, Angela." Booth conceded.

"Yeah, I've noticed. You're not the only one getting the cold shoulder these days, Sweetie. Just give her some time to deal with whatever is going on in that supersized head of hers. She'll come around and when she does don't go making her feel bad for feeling confused. If you do. . ." Angela began to threaten.

"I know." Booth cut her off. "I've worked hard on pulling down those walls brick by brick. I'm not about to hand her fresh mortar." Booth explained.

"Good boy!" Angela said overly enthusiastic.

"Angela, do me a favor. If she calls you tell her to call me. I just need to know she is okay. She doesn't even need to explain why she stood me up, just that she is okay and not in any trouble."

"Sure thing, Booth." Angela agreed.

Booth closed his phone and headed home, praying his gut was wrong for a change.

oOo

Brennan rolled over and looked at the clock on her phone, MON 7:45 AM.

"Shit!" She muttered as she threw herself from the bed and into the bathroom. She turned the hot water on in the shower and climbed in. She grabbed the shampoo and poured a liberal amount into her hands and began rubbing her scalp and pulling the shampoo through the length of her hair.

"What the. . ." she questioned at the shorter locks.

She was about to pull back the shower curtain and look at herself in the mirror when she felt an unusual burning sensation from her pelvis as the soapy water ran past a fresh wound. She looked down to see a fresh tattoo, skull and crossbones, on her left pelvis/hip.

"Oh my god. . ." She muttered. "What have I done?" She asked aloud.

She quickly soaped up a washcloth to wash her face. After running it over once she looked at in surprise at the amount of makeup that came off.

"No. . .no. . . no. . . . not again." She groaned as she scrubbed her face.

Finishing up she threw a towel around her tender body. She wiped her mirror clean of steam and looked at herself. Her hair was cut short, just below the ears, and was turning into a curly mess. Angrily, she dried her hair and attempted to tame the rampant curls but in the end just added some moose and let the curls be.

Deciding that the curly mess wasn't all that bad and definitely easier to take care of she threw on some make up to hide the dark circles under her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she slept well. Her dreams had been plagued by nightmares, when she could remember them. She searched through the drawers in the bathroom until she found a large enough Band-aid to cover the tattoo and applied some antibiotic ointment to it before covering it up. Slipping from the bathroom and back into her bedroom she quickly dressed and gathered her things for work. Skipping coffee, she grabbed her bag and keys and headed out the door.

She barely realized it as she pulled into her spot at the Jeffersonian as her mind tried to make sense of her predicament. Frustrated, she made her way into the building. She barely made it to her office and put her bag up before she was spotted. She was booting her computer when Angela came flying in.

"Bren, where the hell have you been? I've been trying to call you all weekend!" Angela announced.

Brennan barely looked up from her screen, "I was out of town. Something came up." Brennan said quietly.

"I hope whatever it was, was worth standing up Booth for. " Angela inquired. Brennan's eye shot up at the mention of her partner's name.

"I forgot about our arrangements." Brennan said in a defensive manor.

"You forgot?" Angela asked incredulously. "You obviously went to get your hair done as you had planned, which is totally sexy I might add, but you forgot about your date?! That's not like you. What's going on, Sweetie?" Angela asked as she took a seat in front of Brennan's desk.

Temperance felt the walls closing in. How was she supposed to answer? She stood and walked briskly passed Angela, grabbed her lab coat, and headed to Limbo. Angela sat there for a minute completely stunned. Never had she ever seen Brennan act this way.

Down in Limbo Brennan paced the halls as she took out her phone. She had 17 missed calls from Booth, 24 text messages from him too. Angela had called 6 times and left 10 text messages. She flipped the camera on and looked through the pictures and erased all from the past 48 hours. She shoved her phone into her pocket and pulled out a set of remains as she forced the tears not to fall.

That is where Booth found her as he came strolling down the hall. He debated questioning her about Saturday night but decided to give her space and time and let her tell him what happened when she was ready. For the time being he had planned on acting as if nothing happened. As he got closer he could see that she was bent over, engrossed in a set of remains.

"Come on Bones, we've got a case!" He announced as he placed his hand on the small of her back. Normally he wouldn't be so forward but he needed to touch her to feel that she was real and okay after not being able to reach her all weekend.

"Booth!" She jumped slightly and whirled around, causing Booth's hand to slide from her back to near her hip. He gripped her slightly in an effort to comfort and ground her.

With his hand on her left hip he stared into her blue eyes as his thumb absent mindedly began drawing circles near her pelvis. That's when he noticed three things: one, she was not usually a jumpy person near him; two, she had cut her hair and with the way it was curling everywhere it was sexy as hell; and three, she seemed to be in pain.

"Didn't mean to scare you, Bones." He said quietly.

She recovered from her fright quickly and wanted nothing more than his reassuring touch but she felt unworthy of it. She had left him sitting at a restaurant waiting on her and she never showed. The worst part was she couldn't even tell him why. Now he wasn't even mentioning it and she worried that she had damaged their relationship for it.

"I wasn't expecting you that's all." She said in nearly a whisper.

Booth searched her eyes and saw them pleading back to him, begging for his acceptance. He leaned down and was about to kiss her when she pulled away abruptly and started walking back to the elevator. "You said we have a case" she threw over her shoulder as she entered the elevator.

He explained where the body was found and the circumstances. He kept the conversation strictly business-related. He tried his best not to demand her whereabouts from the weekend, but it was hard. This was not the first time she had taken off MIA over the past month and it was starting to eat at him. Finally, he could resist no longer.

"So, how was your weekend, Bones?" He asked, doing his damnedest not to sound angry.

"Okay." She responded shyly, looking out the passenger's window.

She had refused to make eye contact with him since they left bone storage. He was convinced she was hiding something from him but decided not to press the issue. She had never given him a reason to doubt her until now.

"So, do you want to tell me about it?" He asked as they pulled up to the crime scene.

"Nope." She said as she jumped out of the SUV and started walking to the back to change into her jumpsuit.

Booth said nothing but watched her mannerisms as she dressed. Her movements were languid and in the light of the day he could see the amount of makeup she had used to over the probable circles under her eyes. She reached back to put her arms in her suit and the hem of her shirt rose up enough to reveal and bandage near her left hip and pelvis, where Booth's hand had been a little less than an hour ago. He was right when he registered physical pain in her eyes and he was sure his eyes would reveal anger if she would look into them. Anger that she was hiding something and that something may have gotten her injured. But she wouldn't make eye contact with him and so Booth watched her, no studied her every movement as she processed the crime scene. He barely remembered to take note of the things she was telling him about the body before her. He had known this woman for the past five years, had learned every mannerism, and she was lying to him. Her silence spoke volumes.

When they had finished the at the crime scene he drove her back to the Jeffersonian in an uneasy silence. When they had finally pulled up Booth hit the locks before Brennan could escape the SUV, a fraction of a second later and she would have been gone.

He shut off the engine and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "Is there something you want to tell me?" He asked, turning his body so he was facing her. His voice remained calm and in control, despite the raging war of emotions within him.

"No." She said quietly, her eyes meeting his for the first time since they left that afternoon. Please don't push this, she pleaded in her mind.

Booth nodded his head, "Okay." He whispered as he leaned over and gently pressed his lips against hers. A spark ignited between them and she responded with her own need, hands wandering here and there. Booth's hands expertly played in her hair. "I like it," he whispered huskily, "but this worries me" he carefully added as his fingers slipped at the waist of her pants near her bandage.

Brennan's mind raced. She liked where this was going with Booth and she knew she was going to have to give him something or he would only continue to pry. Her mind came up with a quick lie and thankfully Booth was too busy following her hands as she lowered her pants. "I didn't want to show you until it was healed, but if you're worried. . ." she lied as she pulled the bandage back and revealed the very raw tattoo.

"A tattoo! That's what you're hiding?" Booth asked, somewhat relieved. He knew this still didn't answer all of his questions, but she was sharing and he would accept that it was a start. She smiled sheepishly at him and he smiled back. "I think it's cute, Bones. Although, I never would have suspected you for a tattoo person." He joked.

"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do." She said in a flirtatious voice as she unlocked the car.

"Maybe I would like to." He flirted back. A smile crept across his face as he watched his Bones blush as she ran inside.

oOo

The rest of the week moved along at status quo. Bones never mentioned the weekend and Booth didn't press the issue. Bones seemed to be back to herself and Booth was starting to think maybe he was paranoid, seeing something there that wasn't. Brennan had really been making an effort and it showed. Even Angela noticed that Brennan was being extra social.

Booth's gut wouldn't let it be though. She was supposed to be his girl, and that meant sharing things. So why was it that she still seemed to be so hidden. Whenever he would approach the subject she managed to distract him. Come to think of it she seemed to be keeping each person in her life compartmentalized from other aspects of her life.

The weekend came and Booth had Parker, but every time he called Bones she either answered or called him back rather quickly. When he spoke to her Sunday night she said she was working on a new chapter in her book despite a headache and he smiled to himself, she hadn't written since the Gravedigger had her. After dropping Parker back off at his mother's house, Booth went by Brennan's to see if she wanted to go get something to eat. As he pulled in he realized her car wasn't there.

He shook his head knowingly as he pulled in next to her car at the Jeffersonian. He made his way through the employee entrance and down to the lab. Most of the lights were out except for a small one in Tempe's office. He was going to fuss at her about working too much when he realized that she was still wearing the same clothes he had seen her in on Friday as she lay asleep on the couch. Then, suddenly, everything seemed to fall in to place. She wasn't sleeping at home and when she was she probably wasn't sleeping. The mood shift and behaviors were all from lack of sleep. He felt like slapping himself in the face for not realizing the signs of sleep deprivation on his girlfriend.

As he came around the couch to wake her he realized that her eyes were open. She was staring off into space, her pupils were dilated and she was muttering incoherently. She smelled of alcohol and there was a half empty bottle of Jack Daniels on the table. He reached out and ran the back of his hand across her forehead and the skin was warm and dry, he felt a strong pulse in her neck. Bones was drunk or strung out, or both. He took the bottle and emptied the contents down the sink before picking up Bones and taking her back to his apartment to sleep it off. The last thing he wanted was for Cam or Cullen to find out that Bone's may have turned to alcohol just to get a good night's rest, or even worse, drugs.

He wanted so badly to believe it was just alcohol but alcohol wasn't enough for Temperance Brennan to stay at work for 48 hours in the same clothes. Sleep deprivation can make some people do things they never would. Hell, Booth had seen his own men in the army hallucinate from lack of sleep. He understood the power draw it could perform. So the burning question in his mind is: Is sleep deprivation enough to cause Temperance Brennan to seek out illegal drugs? Once she was settled into his apartment he crept away, locked the door, and went to her place to find out.

As he slid the key into the lock of her apartment he took a deep breath and made a silent vow that whatever he found eh would stick by his Bones, no matter what. He would help her work through whatever was going on. He had been in her apartment a handful of times and was not prepared for the sight before him. Boxes littered the halls and the couch and by the looks of it she was haphazardly packing things up. Empty beer cans lay strewn throughout the living room. As he examined the shelves and boxes he noticed it was only her most prized and breakable possessions she seemed to be storing away or perhaps that what she was starting with? His mind reeled. Was she getting ready to run?

He made his way into the kitchen and the dishwasher was half open and full of molding dished. He threw in a dishwasher tablet and set it to run. As he looked around he could not figure out what she was thinking by the mess in the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and found most of the food was moldy and expired. Where had she been eating? Had she been eating? Now that he thought about it she did seem lighter than usual. He grabbed the trash can and was about to start tossing old food out when he heard the distinctive clink of glass on glass. With a heavy heart he pulled the first bottle out of the can and set it on the table. By the time he was done there were no less than six bottles of wine, whiskey, and vodka. He washed his hands and left the bottles on the counter.

He made his way to her first bathroom and noticed there was no medication or indication that anything was out of the ordinary. He moved on to the one place he had never seen in her apartment, her bedroom. The décor in her room surprised him and was shockingly girly with muted pinks and purples. On her nightstand was a picture of the two of them at the benefit ball last Christmas. She looked so alive and healthy then. Now she was pale and sunken in, a shell of her former self. Three more wine bottles were in the trashcan. She had clothes thrown all over the place, some still on hangers. It looked like the room of a seventeen year-old, not a nearly thirty year old woman. He looked through her nightstand and dresser and was relieved to find nothing out of the ordinary. He made his way into her bathroom and noticed a first aid kit lay out on the counter and what appeared to be blood in the sink. A broken wine bottle lay in the trashcan, a matchbook for a place he had never heard of, and a couple of paper bracelets you get when they let you in some clubs. He pocketed the matchbook and bracelets to look up later. He went to the medicine cabinet and found a couple of prescription bottles, mostly full, and all from Sweets.

She has been seeing Sweets? She hates psychology. His mind had a hard time wrapping around the thought because, in his mind, he felt betrayed that she had not come to him with whatever the problem was. They were supposed to be dating that meant she should be telling him whatever was wrong, she had in the past, why not now. He pulled the bottles down and noted their use; one for insomnia, one for anxiety, and both filled shortly after she was buried alive.

Everything was starting to fall into place and he felt slightly relieved. No signs of drug use that he could see. She was drinking, a lot, and that worried him. He could only assume she hadn't come to him because they were not officially dating when it all began and she was ashamed to tell him now for fear he would walk away. The matchbook and bracelets were temporarily forgotten and he came to the conclusion that he had to show her he was here to stay. Set with a new found resolution to help his girlfriend, Booth headed home to his Bones, all the while trying to figure out how he was going to approach the subject without her getting pissed he went through her apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

Shattered

Chapter 2

Booth unlocked the door to his apartment and crept his way down the hallway to his bedroom and peered in. He nodded his head in affirmation; Temperance was still asleep in his bed. He went back to the kitchen and grabbed some aspirin and a bottle of water. Returning to his bedroom he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Bones." He said softly and she barely stirred. "Bones, come on." He urged a little louder.

One eye slipped open and then the other. "Booth?" She asked, confused.

"Hey baby." He greeted and then instructed, "Take these" as he handed her the aspirin followed by the bottle of water. He waited as she took the pills followed by some water. She went to hand the bottle back but he stopped her. "More." She gulped half of the bottle before shaking her head and handing him the bottle. He capped it and returned it to the nightstand.

"How did I get here?" She asked quietly. Even in the darkened room he could see her eyes dart around the room. Her whole body radiated a nervous energy.

"I found you passed out at work. I thought it better to bring you back here versus be found there by security or Cam." He explained as he watched her eyes grow large, like a deer in headlights, before turning away. A slight blush crossed her cheeks. Using his thumb he tilted her chin to make her look at him. "How much did you drink, Temperance?" He asked.

She looked in to his eyes and searched them for the judgment she was sure she would see there but there was none. His warm chocolate eyes only showed concern. After a pause she finally whispered, "I don't know."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "We need to talk about this, Bones, but not tonight." He said calmly as he stood and unbuttoned his shirt. He walked into the bathroom and Brennan could hear him brush his teeth. He emerged a few minutes later in a T shirt and a pair of sweat pant. He walked around the bed and climbed in next to her. The whole while she sat there and watched him, waiting for the yelling she was sure to happen would start, but it never came. Instead he opened his arms and beckoned her to lay down with him. As soon as she was close enough he pulled her close and held her tight. The last thing she heard before falling asleep was, "I love you, Bones. We'll work through this, together."

oOo

The next morning when Booth woke up he was surprised to find Brennan still in the bed with him. He carefully extracted himself from her grasp, grabbed his phone, and headed to the kitchen. First, he called Cullen and left a message that he would not be in to work today for personal reasons. Second, he called Cam and left a message that Bones was under the weather and would not be in to work today if he could help it. With all of the distractions he could think of handled he set out to make breakfast.

Nearly an hour later he heard some swearing followed by the sounds of bare feet padding down the hallway. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at the long legs of his girlfriend as they poked out from under one of his FBI shirts.

"How's your head, baby?" He asked with a lopsided grin.

"Not too bad." She said meekly as she tucked some stray hairs behind her ears. "Thank you for taking care of me last night." She said as she stared at the floor.

He put down the spatula and moved the eggs off of the burner. He crossed the small distance and put his arms around her. "That's what people who are in a relationship do, Bones. We take care of one another." He told her. He placed his hand on the side of her face and as she looked up he captured her lips in his.

After a moment she broke contact. "We're going to be late for work if we keep this up" she joked as she walked over and poured herself a cup of coffee. She moved over and sat down at the bar across from him.

Without missing a beat he handed her some hard boiled eggs, toast, and oatmeal. "We're not going to work today, we're playing hooky. Now eat up."

She stared at him with her mouth hanging open for a moment before she decided against fighting him on this. _Maybe he can help me,_ she thinks, _as long as I don't divulge too much maybe he won't run._ She played with her food and only managed to force herself to eat a couple of mouthfuls of oatmeal before Booth had finished all of his.

Booth sat down his fork, "You've got to eat, Bones, or you're going to get sick." Booth lectured.

"I'm not hungry and I already feel sick." Brennan pouted.

"With how much you've been drinking, I'm not surprised." Booth countered.

oOo

Later that morning, Booth had taken her shopping for groceries and was now putting them away while she took a shower and put on some clean clothes. She stepped out of the shower and her eyes glanced to the broken bottle lying in the garbage can and she groaned. She stepped up to the mirror and felt a wave of dizziness cross over her and she braced herself on the counter. A minute later the dizziness was gone and she wiped away the fog from the mirror. She smiled at her reflection before reaching for her makeup bag.

In the living room, Booth had finished collecting the empty beer cans and was piling dishes to go in the dishwasher when Brennan stepped out of her bedroom. She appeared more confident as she strutted down the hallway towards him. She leaned on the wall as she watched him. He stopped and took in her appearance. She was wearing a tight pair of jeans and a camisole top. Her hair was still damp and curling wildly. She was wearing more eyeliner than usual and her lips had a red gloss to them. He swallowed past the lump forming in his throat. As she walked towards him he could see mischief in her eyes and all he could do was watch as she came up and put her arms around his neck. His arms encircled her waist out of habit.

"A girl could get used to this type of treatment." She whispered in his ear in a husky tone. She grinned when she saw the hair on his arms stand on end.

"Bones, we need to talk. You can't go on like this. . ." He started but was cut off as her lips crashed on to his. He responded immediately before pulling back. "No. You can't keep distracting me like this. We need to talk." He said firmly. "I love you and I am worried about you. Bones. . . "

"Bones, I like that. . . Bones." She whispered seductively as she pressed herself against him.

Fighting a battle within himself and trying to keep her on track was becoming painful, so Booth put some distance between them. "Temperance, we are going to have this conversation. I know it makes you uncomfortable, but it is going to happen." He warned.

Her mood flipped faster than he could process and she suddenly turned on him, "Who the Hell do you think you are, my father? Well I have news for you, Booth, I don't need your help and I don't want it!" Her eyes were wild and darting around the room.

Taken back by her sudden change, Booth stood and watched her rant. He had never seen her like this. Sure, he had pissed her off a few times but he had never seen her so vicious before. He was becoming more and more convinced that he was missing something.

"Are you taking something?" He finally asked the question that had been burning on his mind.

"You mean drugs, Booth? Am I taking drugs? No." She recanted angrily and he nodded. She closed the distance between them and ran her hand on his chest as she looked him square in the eyes, "Why? Was there something you wanted to try?"

He covered her hand with his and held it firmly. "Then tell me what is going on with you. You're not yourself lately, Bones, and I am scared of what you are becoming." He pleaded. She tried to pull from him and he held her tight. "Give me something here, Bones. Tell me why Sweets gave you anxiety medicine? Let's start with that." He begged.

He was hoping that if he could get her to open up about something simple she would let him in. What he was not expecting was for her to slam the door in his face. Her face stiffened and she yanked from his grasp.

"You searched my apartment?" She accused, nearly yelling.

"You left me no choice." He countered.

"How could you betray me like this?" She demanded.

"If you would just tell me what is going on with you I wouldn't have had to." He yelled back.

"Get out!" She screamed as she turned her back to him and began moving down the hall.

"Bones, this is crazy! Just talk to me!" He called to her retreating form.

She grabbed the first thing within reach, which was a small picture on the wall. She hurled it in his direction and narrowly missed striking him with it as it smashed into pieces on the floor.

"I said, get out!" She screamed.

Feeling his own anger rising he grabbed his keys and did as she asked but didn't go far. He sat in the hallway a few feet from her door and waited for her to calm down. Forty-five minutes later he could hear her talking, to whom he had no idea.

"You can't keep doing this. You're ruining everything." Her voice came from inside the apartment. By the sound of it getting louder and then quiet again he could tell she was pacing. "No. Stay away from him. You have to stop." She sounded upset like she had possibly been crying. He wanted to break in her door and demand she tell him who she was talking to and what was going in but that would only prove that he was eavesdropping on her. The last thing he wanted right now was to further break her trust. So, he listened intently for a while longer but could hear no more. Wanting to desperately know who she was talking to, he set off the Hoover building to see if he could pull her phone records and bank account statements. He was not at all surprised to find everything related to her was in lock down for 'identity theft' and he was unable to access anything without a court order.

He ran his hand threw his hair, "Damn, she had thought of everything to cover her tracks." She knew him too well.

oOo

He was somewhat glad that they had no case for the next several days but by the time Friday rolled around he had run out of luck. He went to the Jeffersonian and strolled in like nothing was wrong. As he approached Brennan's office he saw the lights out.

"She's not here." Cam came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. "She's called out sick all week, must be the flu or something." Cam added nonchalantly.

"Yeah, the flu." Booth muttered before turning to Angela's office.

"Hey stud." Angela greeted.

"Not now Ange." He replied wearily as his hands smoothed over the matchbook in his pocket.

After his fight with Brennan he had gone back to his apartment and was pulling his laundry when he remembered the matchbook and bracelets. Pulling the items from his pocket he handed them to the artist. He was sure that there was something there to help him figure out what was going on with Tempe.

"I need you to find out about this place. Where it is, what type of people frequent there, things like that." He instructed. "No official report thought, just between us." He added.

"Sure. But I can tell you I've been to The Paradise, it's a nice place. Bren and I used to go there when we were in college." She informed him. She wrote an address down on a piece of paper and handed it to him. Before she could ask any more questions Booth was out the door and pulling his cell phone from his pocket.

He dialed Temperance's number and after two rings it went to voicemail. He didn't leave a message. He called back again and this time it rang seven times before going to voicemail. Again, he left no message. The third time it rang an unfamiliar voice answered the phone.

"Hello, you've reached Tammy's phone, but she doesn't want to talk to you right now so fuck off." Then the phone went dead.

Booth just looked at the phone in shock for a moment before dialing her number again. After three rings someone answered it but no one was speaking.

"Hello?" Booth asked.

"What the fuck do you want, Booth?" She yelled into the phone. "I'm busy, in case you couldn't tell."

"Bones, where the Hell are you? We have a case." Brennan couldn't refuse a dead body he tempted.

"Take Zack, I am playing hooky." She replied before hanging up the phone.

In a state of shock he called Cam and instructed her to bring Zack and the mobile crime unit to the address he provided and he would meet them there. Booth kept himself at arm's length at the crime scene to avoid any unwanted questions and as soon as he could he left. He trusted the squints to finish their jobs and Cam was there to supervise so there would be no problems.

As he made his way to the club, The Paradise, he passed Brennan's apartment and confirmed she wasn't there and he knew she wasn't at work. He pulled into the busy parking lot and easily found her car. All he had to do was flash his badge at the bouncer and he was let right in. The music hit him like a wall and the black lights made him momentarily dizzy. He carefully made his way through the crowd and looked for Temperance.

Thirty minutes later his frustration was palpable. The club was filled with twenty-something year olds who were half dressed. Never in his wildest dreams could he picture Bones in a place like this. He was about to head back out and wait for her next to her car when he heard her giggle float through the crowd. He followed it up to the bar and was struck silent by the sight in front of him. Unknowing of his presence was Brennan, dancing and laughing at the bar. She wore skin tight black leather pants and a halter top. He had never seen her with so much cheap jewelry or makeup on. If not for that giggle he could easily have passed her by all night long. Then she spotted him and her face lit up. That smile drew him in and before he knew it he was standing next to her.

"Bones?" He asked incredulously, still not sure if he should believe his eyes.

"We were wondering when you would arrive." She slurred as she wrapped her arms around him.

The alcohol on her breath was nearly enough to knock him out. He carefully pulled her arms from him and held her hand in his as she batted her eyelashes at him. He looked around and found the bartender.

"How bad is her tab?" Booth asked lady behind the bar.

"Nothing. They start buying the drinks the moment she walks through those doors." She informed him with a smile as she poured another beer.

"How often does she make her way in here?" Booth asked, using his charm smile.

"At least three nights a week." She answered, handing Booth Brennan's purse.

Booth nodded his head to the bartender as he felt a slight pull on his arm. "Come on, Booth, we want to dance!" Brennan said as she bounced around with the rhythm of the bass.

"I don't think so, Bones. You've had enough. Let's go home." Booth reasoned with her and with a pout she gave up the idea of dancing and started following him out of the door.

In the distance he hears someone call, "Have fun, Tammy!"

"I guess there are other things we can do." She muttered as she pulled up close to him.

"Not like this, baby. Not tonight." Booth said with a smile.

"You're such a fucking buzz kill, Booth. You know that right?" Brennan pouted.

Booth pressed his lips into a firm line to keep from saying something he would regret. Somewhere, beneath the heavy makeup and skin tight leather was his Bones, he just had to help her find her way home. As Booth helped her into the passenger's seat of the SUV and put her seatbelt on she was still pouting. He shook his head as he threw her purse in the backseat before climbing in himself. The engine was barely started when she placed her hand on his knee and began running circles on it. By the next stop light he had to hold her hand in his to keep her from roaming further north. He had expected she would pout or curse him the whole ride home but she was just full of surprises these days.

He barely pulled up to her apartment and she jumped out of the SUV. She kept her hand in his and kept a respectful distance until the elevator doors closed, then she pounced on him. They barely part as the elevator doors open and it takes every bit of restraint to keep him from doing what she has been begging him to do for a while now. She stands outside the door and makes no attempt to unlock it he fishes the keys from his pocket and opens the door. He flicks on the lights and the apartment is looking a little cleaner since the last time he saw it and he grins a little, she's trying. The thought doesn't last long because the next thing he knows she is pawing at his belt buckle in an attempt to release it.

"Whoa there, Bones." He says lightly as he places his hands over top of hers. "I meant what I said, not tonight and not like this."

She looked at him and she seemed puzzled before recognition seemed to cross her features. "Oh, I wasn't out trying to score, you know. You don't need to worry. We're faithful." She said with a coy smile before coming at him again.

Booth embraced her. Even drunk out of her mind she could still say the right thing sometimes. But that wasn't the problem. She was drunker than a skunk and they still had some unresolved issues.

"I know you like us, so what's the problem?" She asked as she watched the thoughts roll behind his eyes.

Booth looked down at her and smiled, "You're drunker than Hell, Temperance."

"Oh come on, Booth. You mean to tell me you've never had a drunk fuck? Really?" Brennan teased with a big grin on her face.

The vulgarity was not working in her favor and only served to turn him off and remind him why he was saying no in the first place. "The only thing I am going to do is pour you into bed and go home. You're drunk and we still need to have that talk."

He could see the mood flip this time and was expecting her to start yelling but instead she just threatened. "Fine, leave, and when you're gone I will be out that door faster than you can speed dial my number."

"Temperance." Booth warned.

"I will not be controlled, Booth." She countered.

"What the Hell is wrong with you, Temperance?" Booth demanded, his control wavering.

"You!" She shouted and stomped her foot.

"You're acting like an out of control teenager. Be straight with me Temperance, are you on drugs? I deserve the truth this time." He implored. Brennan's eyes grew big and without another word she started walking down the hallway, kicking her heels off as she went. "Don't walk away from me!" He called to her retreating figure.

"Why not? You already figure me out, didn't you?" She called back to him, her voice suddenly tired and strained, before slamming her bedroom door shut.

He waited a few minutes but she never re-emerged. He crept down the hall and peeked in her room and she was passed out on the bed. Remembering her purse was still in his vehicle he left her apartment and locked it behind himself. As he passed the night clerk he handed him his card with the instructions to call if she leaves the apartment. Climbing back in the SUV he drove home. With her purse under his arm he went upstairs and turned on the kitchen light before dumping the entire contents on table. His eyes grew wide when he spotted several small white round tablets lying loose among the change.


	3. Chapter 3

Shattered – Chapter 3

Booth paced back and forth in his apartment trying to decide how to proceed with this new found knowledge. Yes, Bones was going to be pissed he went through her purse without her permission but he just had to find out what was going on. Now that he had something to go with it was time to talk to Cam and Angela and bring them up to speed. The fact that neither had approached him about Brennan's odd behavior worried him. Did they not see what he was seeing?

He gathered the pills into a baggie and returned the contents of her purse. He checked the clock on the wall, 3:45 AM. Too early to go to the Hoover and demand an explanation from Sweets and too early to see Hodgins. He showered and shaved and put on his suit. Too anxious to eat he sat at his table drinking a cup of coffee as he dialed Sweet's number.

"Hello." Lanced answered.

"I need to see you, now." Booth greeted.

"Oh. Okay. Is everything alright?" Dr. Sweets asked.

"No." Booth's replied bluntly.

"Alright, I can meet you at my office in 45 minutes, unless you want to meet somewhere else?" Sweets offered.

"Come to my apartment." Booth instructed before hanging up the phone.

Nearly an hour later there was a tentative knock at Booth's door. He looked through the peep hole to see a nervous Dr. Lance Sweets. Booth narrowed his eyes as he unlocked his door. Lance stepped inside and looked at the tense FBI agent and realized he was in trouble. Before Booth could even ask the first question Lance started explaning.

"I had to, Booth. It's for her own safety." Lance stuttered.

Booth led him to the kitchen, "Coffee?" he offered.

"Yeah, sure." Lance said as he sat down. He took the offered mug and swallowed hard. He knew this tactic. He had seen Booth using it on suspects in the interrogation room. "Why am I under an interrogation here, Booth?" He asked.

"Let's start with what you had to do for Bone's own safety, hmm." Booth said with a false grin as he sat down opposite of the young doctor.

"I pulled Dr. Brennan from being able to go out into the field as was the contingency of her therapeutic sessions." Lance said quickly.

"She was seeing you without me?" Booth asked.

"Yes." Lance replied.

"How long?" Booth inquired.

"Since she was buried alive. Wait, you're not upset she isn't allowed out in the field?" The younger man asked.

"No, she doesn't belong in the field right now. Why was she seeing you?" Booth pressed.

"That's confidential." Sweets said clinically.

Booth slammed his fist on the table before reaching in his pocket and producting the pills he found in Temperance's bag. "I found these in Bone's purse, she is drinking like she's a fish, and she called out of work all week. When I went to check on her she was in a bar and let me tell you, she did not look like herself. So I ask you again: What's going on?"

Lanced blinked a couple of times as he processed the information. Recognizing that Brennan was in trouble he decided to bend the doctor-patient confidentiality. He took a deep breath and looked at the anguish in Booth's eyes. "She started seeing me after the Gravedigger got her. She suffering from insomnia and night terrors. I prescribed her some medication for anxiety and something to help her sleep, but she had a bad reaction." Lance explained.

"What type of bad reaction?" Booth asked, his guilt evident that he had failed to see any of this. He knew about the nightmares but he didn't realize they were that bad or affecting her like this.

"Black-outs. She would have hours, sometimes days where she could not remember what had transpired, like getting her hair cut or the tattoo." Lance replied.

"So she told you about that?" Booth asked incredulously. It was still hard to believe Bones was actively seeing a psychiatrist on her own.

"Yeah, she was upset because she didn't remember making the decision to do so or getting it done. Likewise when she missed your date. She just blacked-out. She stopped the medication but the black-outs persisted. So, I pulled her from active duty until we could sort this out." Lance said explained, his eyes on the baggie. Booth didn't immediately say anything so Lance picked up the baggie and examined the white round tablets. "You think she's doing drugs?" He asked.

Booth's rubbed his forehead as he nodded. "Why didn't you tell me? I should have been informed that my partner's mental facilities were in question."

"She told me it had stopped. I believed her. She was to continue our weekly sessions but if she skipped one I would take her out of the field which is what I had done yesterday. I didn't want to punish her for a bad reaction to medication I prescribed but in light of new evidence maybe I should have tried different medication." Lance sighed at his own failing. "So what do we do now?"

"I will handle this. We are not even sure what these are." Booth said sternly as he took the baggie back and put it in his pocket. "I'm going to have Dr. Hodgins test these and then we are going to do an intervention. If we can help her than there doesn't need to be an official report."

"The FBI is already aware of the black out spells and as of this morning, so is Dr. Saroyen." Lance explained.

"Fine, she had a bad reaction to some medication that you gave her. I am trying to save her and her career here, Sweets. Stay out of it unless I tell you otherwise." Booth stood and put the coffee mugs in the sink. As he led Dr. Sweets out of his apartment and locked the door he turned to him, "Remember, not a word."

Lance nodded his head, "I promise but if Dr. Brennan is endangering herself or anyone else I will have to report it."

Booth could only nod in agreement. Lance had a job to do and part of that was protecting the team as a whole and if Bones was presenting that danger that she would have to be removed from the team. Booth's heart was breaking.

oOo

Booth stepped into the Jeffersonian promptly at 8 o'clock and was surprised the see Cam standing there with a cup of coffee in her hands. She smiled bleakly at him and walked back to her office. Once inside Booth shut the door.

"Booth, I know what you're going to say, but Sweets is right. If Dr. Brennan is having memory issues because of the medication then she needs to stay off any cases until it stops." Camille said in her best authoritative voice.

"No, he's right. We may have a bigger problem." Booth said carefully as he sat down. "Call Angela and Hodgins in. I don't want to have to repeat myself.

Moments later they were joined by Brennan's best friend and the only other person to survive the Gravedigger.

"What's going on with Bren?" Angela asked immediately. She could see the state Booth was in and knew that Brennan had to be the cause.

"Please, sit down." Cam instructed.

Once everyone was seated Booth took the baggie from his pocket and handed them to Jack. "I need you to analyze these and tell me what they are. No reports. Strictly off the record."

Jack narrowed his eyes as he took the baggie. "Okay. You want to tell me what this is about?"

"I found them in Bone's purse. We have all noticed she is not acting herself lately." Booth explained as his eyes locked with Angela's. "She's getting completely hammered nightly from what I can tell. She's being hanging at a bar called Paradise. But drinking alone doesn't explain the behavior I have seen first-hand. It's like she is someone else completely. Sweets prescribed her some medication to help with the nightmares since she is not coping well since being buried alive with you Hodgins. I think she may have sought out other ways to self medicate." Booth explained.

"You think Dr. B. is doing drugs?" Jack asked incredulously. "No, man. Not Dr.B."

"Jack, have you sat and talked with her at all this past month?" Angela asked.

"Well, no, but I'm telling you. Dr. B. Wouldn't do that." Jack said defensively as he stood and began pacing the room.

Angela stood and put her hands on her lover's shoulders to make him look at her. "I've talked to her and she just shut down. She refused to talk about being buried alive, as if it never happened. I've tried to talk to her lately and she either won't answer the phone or is incredibly rude and vulgar. I've seen Bren drunk off her ass, she's a funny drunk not a mean drunk. I agree with Booth, alcohol alone would not make her act this way." Turning to Booth she asked, "What do you think we should do?"

"I hate to think that Bones would do this myself. I am trying to help her. Maybe if we all go to her and explain what we see and how we feel, make her see reason, she will see that she needs help. She is not seeing logic with me. She just says I am trying to control her." Booth ran his hands though his hair as he looked to Camille for support.

"If we can keep this off the record and help her then I see no reason to report this." Cam said quietly. "But she has to ask for help and take it. I can't risk her being under the influence and working here. I have a lab to run."

"So how do we do this? Ange, you're her best friend, what's you gorgeous brain concocting?" Jack asked.

"Let's throw a party at your place, Jack. She will feel less threatened if we don't bring this to her. When she gets there we will sit her down and talk to her. By then you should know what those are." Angela pointed at the baggie in Jack's hands.

"Alright. Let's say, 8 o'clock. That shouldn't seem to fishy and will give my staff time to prep something believable." Jack said as he headed back to his office.

"What's the occasion?" Booth asked. "We normally go to the Founding Fathers for drinks after we solve a case."

"I have a surprise announcement!" Angela gushed as she headed out the door.

oOo

Later that night the group gathered at Hodgins' mansion. Jack had managed to get his team to throw what looked like one Hell of a party together in a small amount of time. Booth looked at the bar and wanted to pour himself a scotch to steel his nerves but thought twice about it. They were here to get Bones to stop drinking, not get drunk themselves.

"Did you park in the garage, like I asked?" Angela asked.

"Yeah. She won't know I'm here." Booth replied with a sad tinge to his voice. "I just can't believe she is avoiding me, keeping secrets from me."

"She's stressed and not herself. It's the illness, sweetie, not her." Angela comforted. He nodded. Booth knew all too well how addictions could alter a person's personality.

"I just hope Jack gets here soon with those results." Cam said as she stepped into the conversation.

Moments later the doorbell rang and Booth and Cam headed to the back of the house. Angela went to answer the door. She took in a sharp breath at the appearance of her best friend, she really looked like she had been out with the flu for a week. Brennan's hair was a curly mess, like she had fallen asleep with it wet and couldn't do anything with it. She wore a simple pair of jeans and a Flyers T-shirt she must of snagged from Booth because it was too big and accentuated her too thin frame. She looked tired and had dark circles under her eyes that she didn't bother to try and cover. On her foot was a new tattoo of an Asian symbol.

Angela pulled her friend in to a hug. "Are you okay, Sweetie?"

"Just tired, Angela. I've not been sleeping well." Brennan explained as she pulled from her friend's embrace.

 _She's lying to you. Do you see that look in her eyes?_

Angela led her into the living room and offered her a drink. To Angela's surprise, she declined and instead asked for water and something for a headache.

Handing Brennan a bottle of water and some Tylenol, Angela sat down next to her. "So, how are you feeling? Any better?" She asked.

 _Do you think she knows?_

Brennan took a deep breath. She wanted so badly to tell her friend everything but she didn't know where to start and she wasn't sure of what was going on herself so she lied. "Yes, the flu symptoms have mostly abated, except for the fatigue and headaches."

 _You really are a bad liar Tempe. . ._

"Good. Glad to hear it." Angela said as she turned herself in the couch to face Bren better. "So, do you want to tell me what's going on? Booth is worried about you and quite frankly, so am I. We all are." Angela's eyes implored her friend. Just then, Booth and Cam came in to the living room and sat in the chair opposite the couch that Brennan and Angela currently occupied.

 _It's a trap. They're going to lock you away. . .crazy. . ._

"What's going on here?" Brennan asked, her voice rising in indignation.

"It's called an intervention, Sweetie." Angela said putting her hand on her friend's shoulder.

Brennan stood and faced the small group. "An intervention for what, exactly? What have I done?"

"Bones, we know about the drinking . . . and the drugs. You have to be honest with us so we can help you." Booth begged as he stood.

 _Not this again. . . I told him the truth. . ._

"Drugs!?" Brennan repeated, her eyes narrowing at the accusation.

"I can save your job if you willing enter rehab, tonight." Cam said cautiously, also standing.

 _Bitch. . ._

Feeling trapped and betrayed she turned to Booth, "How could you think that? You know me better than that?"

 _That's right, walk away. They all leave sooner or later. . ._

"I should, but you shut me out Bones. You've not been yourself lately." Booth pleads.

"I've not been sleeping well." She muttered.

"Have you been sleeping at all? When was the last time you ate?" Booth reached out to put his arm around her and she stepped out of reach, not wanting to be further trapped.

"I . . . uh . . ." Brennan couldn't remember the last time she did either.

 _There, there . . . let me handle these assholes . . . please Tempe. . ._

Feeling a bit dizzy she blurted out, "No."

"No, what? You're not making sense, Bones?" Booth pleaded.

Feeling frustrated she stepped back further away from him. "You don't trust me?" The tears she had been trying to hold back fell freely. She looked at Cam, "Is your medical bag in the car?" to which Camille nodded. "Fine, draw my blood. You will see I'm not taking anything."

There was a tense few moments and nobody spoke. Brennan was complying and they were going to be able to do a toxicology screen. The entire time Camille drew her blood Brennan stared at Booth. When she was finished Booth stepped closer to Bren but she turned and started to leave. By the time he caught up to her she was almost to her car.

She turned to face him, "Leave me alone, Booth. I need some space. This. . ." She motioned to the house, "is too much for me right now. This is why I don't let people in." She turned to unlock her car and he grabbed her arm and turned her around.

"I love you, Bones! I'm just trying to help! Just tell me what's going on!" He begged as he pulled her into an embrace and for a moment she hugged him back. "I'm not going to leave you, Bones, just let me in." He whispered to her hair.

She pulled back and looked into his eyes. Both of them were crying. "Without trust there can be no relationship. You obviously don't trust me, why should I trust you?" She asked.

She had plunged the metaphorical knife into his heart but he knew she was right. He didn't trust her, not right now. He stared at her, not knowing what to say.

 _Run . . .get away . . . he'll figure it out sooner or later and leave. . ._

Her eyes darted to the left before returning to him. She shook her head and opened her car door.

"I'll give you your space and time, because I love you and I trust you, but you have to promise me that when you're ready you'll call me and we'll talk about this. I miss you, Bones, don't take too long." He offered as she closed the door and without acknowledging him, drove off.

Booth turned back to Cam and shrugged his shoulders.

Cam held up the vial, "Let me get that screen done to see what we're dealing with."

Angela stepped through the door and joined the other two in the driveway. "Jack called. Said he ran the test twice. Those tablets you found were nothing more than Excedrin Migraine." Angela looked pointedly at Booth.

Booth looked down the road that Brennan had drove down moments ago with longing and said a silent prayer to keep Brennan safe. As everyone parted and went their separate ways Booth fought the urge to go to Brennan's apartment and forced himself to go home. He had promised her space and time.

Brennan drove herself home and cried the entire way. By the time she reached her apartment she was angry and felt betrayed. She fell against the door the moment it closed and sobbed for what felt like hours.

 _There, there, Tempe. I'll take care of you. Nobody knows you like I do. I'll never leave you._

Temperance wiped the tears from her face and stood. She walked around her apartment and began smashing everything she could easily reach; pictures, ceramics, dinnerware. She went into her bedroom and pulled out a bag from her closet. She hastily packed it. She picked up the picture of Booth from the now broken frame and stuffed it into her bag. She grabbed Brainy Smurf and Jasper and stuffed them into her pockets. She went to her safe and grabbed all the cash before relocking it. With a satisfied smirk she looked at the destruction and shut and locked the door. She was still smirking when she passed the night watchman as he was sleeping and loaded the bag into her car. She started the ignition and headed for the interstate.


	4. Chapter 4

Shattered Chapter 4

Booth gut wouldn't let him sleep. He wasn't sure at what time he finally succumbed to exhaustion. It was his cell phone that woke him up. He reached for it blindly.

"Booth" he groaned.

"It's me" Cam answered. "I have those results for you if you want to come in."

Booth frowned, "Can't be good if you're making me come in for this, Camille."

"Seeley just come in." Cam quipped before hanging up the phone.

Booth groaned and ran his hand over his face before deciding on a shower and a shave. His gut was still paranoid and he felt a long day coming. Turning on the coffee pot he made his way to the shower.

Forty-five minutes later he was walking into the Jeffersonian. It was still pretty early and a Saturday, which meant no body was there. He walked into Cam's office and Angela and Jack were there anxiously waiting for him.

"I wanted to wait until you got here." Cam told him as she gestured for him to sit.

"What is she taking?" Booth asked, anxious to get this over and done with. If he could know what she was taking he could figure out what to do about it. He just needed something tangible.

Cam unfolded the piece of paper in her hands. "I ran the test twice, once for routine and once for metabolites."

"Get on with it already!" Angela nearly shouted. She was worried sick about her best friend.

"Negative. She hasn't taken any recreational drugs." Cam said in a carefully metered voice.

"What!?" Booth stood grabbing for the paper.

Cam handed him the paper, "There are high quantities of caffeine, acetaminophen, and aspirin. Her blood glucose levels are low and so is her iron. Both indicate she is not eating properly, but that's not a crime or really unusual for Dr. Brennan."

Booth nodded his head in agreement as he collapsed back into the chair. "So, now what?" He looked at Angela for encouragement.

"I told you Dr. B wouldn't do drugs. She's too smart for that." Jack chimed in.

Booth ran his hand over his face before standing, "I need to go talk to Bones." Booth said as he paced the room.

"Then go to her." Angela urged as she put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"She told me she needed space. I don't want to push her. I don't want her to. . ." Booth stammered.

"Run?" Cam finished his thought.

Booth's soulfully sad eyes scanned the room, revealing the fear that lay there to his friends for the first time. He was afraid he was losing Brennan and he didn't even know what to. Angela and Jack both nodded their heads in agreement. "Go."

Twenty minutes later Booth stood outside of Brennan's door and hesitated a moment before knocking. He didn't see her car outside but was at a loss of where to begin looking for her since she wasn't answering her phone. He waiting a minute and knocked again. "Bones?!" he called to her but she didn't answer. Fishing the keys out of his pocket he found the spare key she had given him and let himself into her apartment. The sight before him made him lose his breath. Destruction was the only word that came to mind. The place would have looked better if it had been ransacked by professionals. This was more of a whirlwind of chaos. He searched her place for her and it became obvious that she wasn't there and in the current state of things he couldn't determine if anything was missing. Realizing defeat he pulled his cell from his pocket and speed dialed her. Across the room, under a pile of debris, her phone rang. He picked it up, 2 missed calls, both from him. Pocketing her phone he headed to the Hoover.

oOo

After updating Angela and Cam to the state of Brennan's apartment and her disappearance Booth sat at his desk with his head in his hands. In a way Brennan was right. She was going through something and whatever was going on nobody noticed until it got out of control. Now, instead of supporting her, her friends and he accused her of drug use. They had all let her down and betrayed her and now she was nowhere to be found.

He checked his email and Cam forwarded a email she received from Brennan stating she was taking several weeks sabbatical and would inform her of her eventual return when the time came, but left no indication where or for how long she would be gone. He flipped through her phone and found nothing but some pictures she had taken at the night club the previous week. No unusual calls or texts.

"Where are you?" He whispered as he entered her name in a search.

She hadn't accessed her bank accounts in several days nor had she booked any flights or rented any cars. But then again, she wasn't technically missing. She had been MIA less than a day but Booth's gut told him she was running. Programming the federal database to alert him to any activity that came through in her name or social he turned the computer off and picked up the first file on his desk and began working on the back log of paperwork that was waiting for him.

oOo

Late that same night Brennan smiled as she turned the key and entered the little cabin she had rented in the middle of nowhere in rural Virginia. She sat her bag on the couch and began to explore the space. She found the place cozy. The décor was simple. Wood paneled walls and hard wood floors. Pictures of wild ducks and deer adorned the small space and to finish off the look a set of antlers above the fireplace. Usually reserved for hunters she would call this place home for the time being. She checked each of the two bedrooms and two bathrooms and found everything in working order. She picked up the telephone and confirmed a dial tone.

She dialed the main office. "Hey, this is Tammy up in Cabin Four, I am going to need towels there are none in the bathroom." She informed the receptionist. After listening to the receptionist explain that they would bring them up in the morning she hung up.

Rummaging through the kitchen she began to make a list of things she would need to buy at the store in the morning. When she finished she stood in the middle of the living room and listened to the crickets outside.

"I could get used to this." She said to herself.

oOo

Three days. It took three days for Angela to hack into the GPS signal on Brennan's car. It took Booth forty minutes to call out of work and pack two bags into his SUV and head for the interstate. One bag with the essentials and another one with his sniper gear. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to bring it but he trusted his gut and went with it. For the better part of the four hour long drive to the little town in southern Virginia where Brennan was hiding his brain concocted a multitude of scenarios on why she was here, none of them pretty. As he followed the GPS he came to a camp ground and stopped at the office.

The young woman working the desk looked up from the book in her hands as he entered.

"Welcome to Staunton River State Park. How can I help you?" She asked.

"I'm looking for a friend of mine that's staying up here. She forgot to tell me what site she's at and I have no signal. Think you could look it up for me?" He asked, only partially lying. He didn't have a cell signal at all.

"Sure thing, sugar" she replied. "What's your lady friend's name?" She asked.

"Temperance Brennan." Booth said.

The woman looked in the computer for a minute, paused slightly before continuing her search. "I don't have any one here by that name." She finally answered.

Booth thought for a moment. "Try just T. Brennan." He gave her his best charm smile.

She looked again and shook her head. "No, sorry. I have a Tammy Buckman. Paid in cash for the month up in cabin four." She said meekly.

"That's right, I forgot, she's using her maiden name these days. Can you give me directions?" He covered.

She took a pamphlet and highlighted the map up to cabin four before handing it to him. He slipped the pamphlet from her hands and smiled. "I would appreciate it if you could keep this on the down low, if you know what I mean? Her husband won't take too kindly to my visitations." Booth's stomach clenched with the lie as the young woman's eyes blinked at the implication.

"Of course, sir. We pride ourselves on discretion in these parts." She said with a knowing grin.

Booth smiled at her one more time before returning to his SUV. He followed the trail nearly all the way to cabin four but pulled off into an unoccupied camping slot as the sun began to set. Heaving out his sniper gear he suited up and made the rest of the way on foot. He was determined to observe her without her knowing it and finally get to the bottom of what was going on.

It was fully dark by the time he found the well lit cabin in the middle of the woods. Sitting serenely on the porch with her legs thrown over the arm rest of the chair and with a book in her hands, sat Bones. He debated marching over and demanding to know what the Hell was going on but quickly reigned in his temper when he saw how relaxed she looked and healthy.

A short while passed when a car pulled up into the drive. He tensed and trained the scope on this newcomer, an unknown male. Booth forced himself to calm and reminded himself that it couldn't be what it looked like. No matter what was going on, Bones would not cheat on him. He was about to question if they were still even together based off of their last conversation when he noticed she had tensed and went inside. The unknown male subject approached the door and was knocking on it. After a few minutes Bones didn't answer, the man left, and Booth let out a breath he was holding. Booth jotted down the license plate number of the unknown male on an index card in his pocket and makes a mental note to do a search later.

He spends the rest of the evening watching her from the woods. She is quiet for the most part and he is surprised to see her not drinking.

"Maybe that's what she is doing out here, getting herself together." He thinks. But the calm is broken shortly thereafter as she turns the radio up loudly and turns what seems like every light in the cabin on. She begins pacing the living room and he can't tell if she is arguing on the phone or singing but she is very vocal and loud, just not quite loud enough for him to distinguish what she is saying. She disappears from view for a short while and returns to the living room wearing one of his button-up shirts and not much else. As she walks to the kitchen and back he notices the appearance of a bottle in her hands that is momentarily replaced by a glass.

Booth growls out loud. Now he is faced with the dilemma of staying hidden and watching her drink herself into oblivion or making himself known and trying to intervene. He contemplates how long it would it take to hike back to his truck and drive the distance back. He checks his binoculars and sees she is drinking wine. He nods his head to himself in agreement; he has time, and begins the hike back to the SUV.

Thirty minutes later he has changed back into a pair of jeans and his Flyers shirt and is pulling up along the cabin. He does one last sweep of the SUV to be sure that all of the sniper gear is stowed away out of sight. He walks up to the cabin and can see her now dancing to the blaring music inside. She has dimmed some of the lights. He knocks on the door and can see her as she sets the glass down next to the now nearly empty bottle before coming to the door. As their eyes meet she cracks a smile.

"Booth." She greets as she opens the door halfway, leaning on it. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She asks.

"Can I come in or are you going to make me stand out here all night?" He asks with smirk. _She wants to play, fine I can play too._ He thinks.

She licks her bottom lip before deliberately biting on it, feigning contemplation. Deciding not to wait for her answer he places his hand on the door and eases it open as he steps up next to her. Her eyes widen slightly at his boldness but she steps back with a grin. He takes notice of her keys on the table and sneakers near the door.

"Can I offer you a drink? A beer perhaps?" She asks as she walks back towards the kitchen.

"Beer." He calls to her as he looks around the room. Knowing just how visible things were on the outside he began shutting the blinds and pulling curtains closed. She stops and stares at him when she returns with his beer in hand. "Privacy." He says with his best charm smile as he takes the beer from her hands and she nods. She moves throughout the cabin and follows his lead, shutting the outside world out.

While she is gone he takes a peak in the fridge and is pleasantly surprised there is ample food and little alcohol. The cabinets are stocked as well. On the counter sits her laptop on the lock screen. He moves back into the living room and peaks into her purse and notices a prescription bottle and a bottle of Excedrin. He is unable to read the label on the prescription bottle before she returns. When she steps back into the room he is on a bended knee, stoking the fire.

He turns and looks at her and can't help but notice yet another new tattoo on her left ankle. This one he can't help but full out smile at as it is a badge, but not just any badge, his badge complete with his badge number. She immediately knows what he is looking at turns her ankle for him to see. He instinctively reaches out and caresses her ankle as his eyes dart to hers and she is smiling, almost purring at the contact. His hand traces her calf, knee, and thigh before coming to rest on her hip as he comes to stand next to her.

She can see the question forming in his mind and she decides to stop him before he can start questioning her again. "What are you doing here, Booth?" She asks in a quiet voice.

He smiled at her, forcing his charm to ooze from every pore. Questioning her got him nowhere, she would just shut down. So, tonight, he was going to play her little game. He tapped into that person that he used to be before he met her. With his right hand still on her hip he let his left hand slide up the back of her neck and into her hair. "I missed you, baby." He said in a husky voice as he pulled her to him and kissed her. Not surprisingly, she responded eagerly. He let her push him back until the back of his legs met with the couch.

As the next song came on the radio she began to dance in front of him, for him. Her hips swayed seductively. Then she began to sing along.

 _I knew you were  
You were gonna come to me  
And here you are  
But you better choose carefully  
'Cause I, I'm capable of anything  
Of anything and everything_

 _Make me your Aphrodite  
Make me your one and only  
But don't make me your enemy, your enemy, your enemy_

 _So you wanna play with magic  
Boy, you should know what you're falling for  
Baby do you dare to do this?  
Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse  
Are you ready for, ready for  
A perfect storm, perfect storm  
Cause once you're mine, once you're mine  
There's no going back_

Booth's mouth went dry as she straddled him. "How did you find me?" She asked as she began running kisses down his jaw towards his neck.

"I will always find you." He replied breathlessly.

He knew he was losing control but that's what this was all about, right? Letting her be in control. He forced the instinct of the FBI agent to the back of his mind and permitted himself just to feel. This was the woman he loved and she needed him here, like this, no questions and answers, just physical reassurance of their bond.

She stood and took his hand in hers and tugged lightly before making her way to the bedroom. She stopped and looked over her shoulder coyly as she unbuttoned the shirt and let it slide to the floor, giving him a glance of another tattoo on her left shoulder, but in the dark he couldn't tell what it was.

He pushed back the need to ask her about it. He was here for her and she was letting him in, if only physically at this point. Tonight he was the gambler and he was taking a chance. As his jeans tightened in response the last cognitive thought he had was _yeah, I can do that,_ and he followed her into the bedroom.

oOo

The next morning he woke with the first bit of light to force its way through the closed blinds in the bedroom. Normally he would be basking in the glow of their lovemaking, but not this morning. She had gained a little weight back but was still too thin for the frame he knew intimately well. He peaked at the tattoo on her left shoulder as her arm lay across his bare abdomen. It was delicate, airy, and in the middle said " _magic_ ". Beneath it he could barely make out the faint cigarette burn scars he knew was there. That's when the realization hit him. She was systematically covering her childhood scars from foster care with tattoos. It was actually a logical way of moving past her pain and turning it into something she could be proud of instead of ashamed.

With a smirk he carefully removed himself from her grasp and went into the bathroom. Turning on the shower he poked around and found nothing of significance. He was pleased to see she was still sleeping when he exited the shower. Searching around Booth found his clothes and dressed. He made his way back to the living room and back to where Brennan's purse lay abandoned, its contents spilling on the floor. He crouched down and picked up the prescription bottle and read it: Lorazepam 1mg, take one every six hours as needed for anxiety. He checked the count as saw that it was full. She hadn't taken any since Sweets prescribed it last month. He carefully placed the bottle back where he got it. A small pink plastic compact caught his attention and he reached for it. It was her birth control pills. Checking it he saw that she was remembering to take them and let out a breath, realizing in the heat of the moment neither had thought of protection last night. Again, placing the container back where he found it he stood and made his way to the kitchen.

He was feeling guilty for snooping and decided that he should make her a nice breakfast. He went into the cabinets and they were lacking the necessary components for him to make pancakes he made a short list. Checking his watch he noted that it was nearly seven am. Thinking she would sleep late he grabbed his keys, and hers so she couldn't leave before he returned, he headed to the store. If he had only known how wrong he was and the commotion that it would because he would have waited or at least left a note.

Brennan woke to the sound of a vehicle pulling away. She stretched lazily and felt sore. As she allowed her senses to take in her surroundings she became increasingly alarmed. This was not her bed. This was not her room.

"What the . . .!?" She mumbled out loud as her eyes open and she took in her surroundings.

A sense of dread filled her as she realized that one, she was naked and two, she had definitely had sex last night. She searched her mind for any memory to put everything into place but nothing came. Panic and dread filled her as she jumped out of bed and began searching around her. Grabbing her discarded jeans and t-shirt she dressed. Her breathing became painful and tight as she attempted to claw at any memory to make sense of the situation she found herself in. With her mind reeling she saw a man's shirt discarded in the doorway to the bedroom. She gave it wide birth as she passed it as if the shirt would reach out and strike her. Finding her sneakers she hastily shoved them on.

She went from room to room attempting to put the pieces together. The last thing she remembered was driving home from Hodges place. "When? When?" She questioned the air as she searched for her cell phone. Not finding her phone or her keys. "No. No. No. What have I done?" She muttered as the panic clawed at her heart. She had no idea where she was or what she had done, let alone what the date was.

She felt as if she couldn't breathe and went outside. There was nothing but woods as far as she could see. She ran to her car but it was locked. "Damn." She cursed as her fist came down over the roof of the vehicle that denied her access. She looked around for any indication that she was not alone or the man she had spent the night with was returning. As the world around her began to swirl, she took off running into the woods. The trees began to swim around her and her vision went black.

Booth had to wait for the store to open but once it did it didn't take him long to get what he needed and get out. He had a smile on his face as he pulled up to the cabin. He had been gone longer than he had anticipated, an hour and a half, but hopefully Bones was still sleeping. He was feeling almost giddy as he took the bag from the SUV and headed to the cabin's door. His eyes swept up and he dropped the bag as soon as he realized the front door was open.

"Bones?" He called, debating returning to the truck for his gun.

When no answer came he carefully entered the cabin and turned on the light. Seeing no threat he moved on to the bedroom he had left Brennan in. The sheets were tossed back and Temperance was not there. He walked to the bed and felt the sheets, they were cool. She had been out of bed for a little while. He checked the bathroom and nothing was missing. As he scanned the bedroom he noticed some clothes missing from the floor and wished he had take more time to catalog what she had brought with her so he would know what was missing and therefore what she wearing.

"Damn it!" He cursed as he made his way through the cabin. Seeing her purse was still lying on the floor. Her sneakers were no longer by the door. Trying not to jump to conclusions he considered maybe she went for a run. He went back to the porch and grabbed the bag he had previously dropped and looked around for any sign of Bones. Taking a deep breath he returned to the kitchen and began putting things away but his gut was telling him something was off but he couldn't put his finger on it. He went back to the porch to await her return.


	5. Chapter 5

Shattered Chapter 5

Booth was able to make himself sit for five minutes before returning to the cabin and grabbing his keys. He returned outside and began pacing the small yard, looking for any sign to indicate which direction Bones had gone. He was making his third pass when he noticed a disturbed patch of grass and a broken dead twig on a fallen tree. He looked around noting that there were several marked paths that looked un-trodden.

"Why would she take this way?" He wondered. Her footfalls were easily enough to distinguish from the fallen leaves and relatively moist ground beneath. He returned to the SUV. After strapping his pistol to his leg and throwing on a button up short sleeve shirt to cover his holster, he started off in the direction that he was sure Brennan had taken off.

After fifteen minutes her footfalls became lighter with less pressure pushed in from the heel indicating that she had been running up until this point, not jogging, but full on running.

"Was someone chasing you?" He asked himself thinking back to the unknown male subject that had shown up at the cabin the previous evening. He looked around and was sure besides his own there were no footfalls following Bones.

Looking around it appeared she had possibly tripped and fallen, two large imprints of her hands and her knees were visible. Perhaps she had even stopped to rest here. He pulled out the pamphlet with the trails marked on it. From what he could tell there were no trails nearby that would intersect with where he currently was. Could she have made it to the road? How far ahead could she possibly be? He checked his watch and it was a quarter to eleven. Wondering if there was anything dangerous in these woods after dark, he checked his cell, still no signal.

"Great!" Booth complained as he shut his phone. Then something pink caught his eye. Walking further he bent down and picked up a small pink toy pig. With a smirk he put Jasper in his pocket and continued in the same direction. If she continued in a straight line she would eventually have made it to the road but he couldn't be sure that she had kept straight. Every so often he would lose her trail but would find it again before long and was silently grateful for the recent rain otherwise he would have lost her trail long ago.

It was early afternoon by the time he followed her footprints all the way to the road where the trail stopped cold. Wishing he had worn better sneakers, he began following the road back in the direction of where the cabins where, hoping that she came this way too. He moved to the side a little bit as he heard a vehicle coming but instead of passing they pulled up next side of him. He looked up to see a Park Ranger.

"Lost friend?" The uniformed man called out to him.

Booth turned and walked to the truck. "Yeah, should never have left the trail, right?" Booth explained with a slight laugh to his voice. He didn't want to mention Brennan as he didn't want her name all over the ten o'clock news.

"I can give you a lift." The ranger offered.

"Thanks." Booth agreed as he walked over and got in the passenger side of the truck.

"Name's Byron, you staying at a camp site or in one of the cabins?" Byron asked.

"Seeley." Booth introduced. "I'm up in cabin four."

"Nice cabin." Byron replied. "Won't take long to get there. You got quite turned around."

Booth could only smirk, "You have no idea."

They were making their way up the winding dirt roads back to the cabin when Byron asked "You alone up here?" offering Booth a bottle of water.

"Yeah, why?" Booth replied, swallowing hard.

"It's nothing. Just that it's the second time today someone's been picked up off that road." Byron replied as he pulled up to the cabin, noticing two vehicles parked there.

"What happened?" Booth asked as Byron gave him a pointed look.

"Sheriff's office picked her up scared out of her head. Think they took her to the hospital to get checked out." Byron explained.

Booth opened the door and climbed out of the truck, his holster becoming momentarily visible as he did. As he shut the door to thank Byron he noted Byron was getting out. Booth was reaching for his wallet to get a picture of Bones out to ask if this was the girl when things got crazy.

"Keeps your hands where I can see them." Byron instructed.

"Wait a minute." Booth tried to calm him.

"Down on the ground, now!" Byron shouted. "You're not alone. You were following that girl, weren't you?"

Booth felt like rolling his eyes, "I'm a federal agent. Yes, I am following a suspect. I tracked her down here but she gave me the slip. Let me get my badge to show you."

"Alright, but no fast movements." Byron relented.

Booth reached in his pocket and took out his badge and showed Byron. Byron nodded before putting his gun back and securing the strap across it.

"Sorry, I saw your weapon and jumped to conclusions." Byron sheepishly said.

"No problem." Booth replied, putting his wallet away and grabbing his keys. "Now, which way to the hospital?" He asked.

"When you leave the park, make a right and follow the highway about twenty miles and follow the signs to the hospital. You want me to call ahead?" Byron asked.

"No. If she hears I'm on to her she is likely to bolt." Booth lied as he climbed up into his SUV. Booth was getting weary of lying but he was concerned that if Brennan felt cornered she would run or worse there would be a scene and he wouldn't be able to protect her from the paparazzi. Waving his hand he left the park ranger standing there as he headed off to the hospital.

oOo

"Miss, can you sit here and let me check you out?" The old nurse with white hair crouched down to urge the crying woman in the corner.

"No! I want to go home. I want my daddy!" The woman shouted as she hugged her knees tighter to her chest.

"My name is Gladys. I'm a nurse. I'm just trying to help you." The white-haired nurse soothed. "Can you tell me your name so I can call your daddy?"

"Tempe." The woman said in a small voice as she sniffled. "Do you know my daddy?" Tempe asked peeking over her knees at the nurse.

Gladys quickly glanced over at the sheriff who was standing near the door. "No, honey, I don't. Do you know your phone number?" Gladys asked.

"No." Tempe replied as she began crying again. "I want to go home!"

Gladys stood and turned to the sheriff, "You have no idea who she is?"

"Naw, found her wandering down 49. No ID just this toy." The officer replied showing the nurse the toy in his hand.

"That mine!" Tempe called. "Give him back!"

The nurse looked annoyed at the officer as she snatched the child's toy from him and handed it back to the child-like woman. "Here you go, sweetie."

Tempe reached out and took the little blue smurf. "Thank you." She said with a small smile, her tears temporarily forgotten.

"What's his name?" Gladys asked.

"Brainy." Tempe said shyly.

"Where did you get him?" The nurse asked hoping to keep the woman talking.

"My bestest friend gave him to me cause he says I so smart." Tempe explained. The nurse smiled, feeling bad for the child stuck in the woman's body. "Can I go home now?" Tempe asked.

"I need to make sure you're not hurt first, honey." The nurse explained.

Tempe held up her hands, "See, I no hurt, now can I go home?"

The nurse chuckled. "Okay sweetie, but I still need your daddy's number."

Through the door the sheriff heard some people arguing and decided to check it out while the nurse had the woman occupied. As he gently closed the door behind him he looked around for the source of the noise.

"Sir, you can't come back here." A nurse was saying to an imposing man as he forced his way into the triage area in the emergency department.

"She's five foot five, short auburn hair. I was told she was brought in. I just need to find her." Booth explained as he waved his badge around.

"Are you her guardian?" The sheriff asked.

Booth turned to look at the man speaking to him and was relieved to see a county sheriff officer. The park ranger said a sheriff had picked up a girl on the side of the road. If he was lucky this was his man. He looked the older man over. He had grey hair and wore glasses and looked tired. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

"Are you her guardian?" He repeated.

"I am her medical proxy, yes." Booth answered, carefully choosing his words.

The officer put his glasses back on and nodded his head. "Follow me" he instructed as he stepped back toward the room he had just come out of. He stopped just short of entering before stepping aside. "Is that the woman you're looking for?"

Booth stepped forward. He could here Brennan crying before he looked through the little window.

"I just wanna go home, why I not go home?" Tempe cried from her place in the corner.

Booth slowly stepped into the room as the nurse sent an inquisitive look in his direction and then to the sheriff who followed behind him. The nurse backed away from the crying woman and was about to begin firing off a new round of questions when the sheriff held up his hand, stopping her.

Booth crouched down in front of Brennan and pushed some hair out of her eyes. "Bones?" He asked in a soft voice.

A pair of big blue eyes and tear stained cheeks looked up at him and for a moment he was a afraid she didn't know who he was when suddenly she called out his name, "Boof!" and threw her arms around him and began to cry again. Booth was confused and held her for a minute until she hiccupped and pulled from him.

Wiping her eyes she looked at him and asked, "You ganna take me home now?"

Booth glanced at the nurse and then the Sheriff before whispering to her, "Knock it off, Bones." She looked at him with puppy-dog eyes and cocked her head slightly to the side. Booth looked into her eyes as was unable to see any sign of subterfuge and he was pretty sure he could still read her like a book. Sighing he stood up and patted the examination table. "Up you go." He instructed as the sheriff exited the room.

Brennan hesitated a moment before climbing up on the table, her eyes never leaving his. Silently he questioned her with his eyes in return. _Why was Bones acting this way,_ he wondered. The nurse stepped up and started cleaning the scrapes on her hands and knees. When Gladys applied the antiseptic to Brennan's knees she turned her head quickly and hissed giving Booth a quick glance at a large bruise forming on the side of her head, just behind her left ear.

He parted the hair and inspected the wound. "What happened here?" He asked.

Brennan took in a deep breath and released it with a shrug. "I was runnin' and fell down." She said as if that explained everything.

"Why did you take off like that?" Booth asked becoming frustrated with this routine and wanting some sort of explanation for her outrageous behavior.

"I was runnin'. . . I got lost-ed and scared. . ." Tempe explained.

"Stop it! Alright, just stop." Booth demanded as held her shoulders.

Brennan's lower lip started to quiver and her eyes filled with tears. Her hands flew to cover her face as she started to cry. The nurse grabbed him and turned him to look at her. He was shocked to see the anger in the older woman's eyes.

"She might be developmentally delayed but that doesn't give you the right to bully her. You are her guardian and she deserves better than that from you. If you're not up to the task I will call social services and they will find someone who is! They have great group homes around here." Gladys scolded.

Booth held his tongue and looked past the nurse at the crying woman. In all the years he knew Bones she had never turned on the tears to gain the upper hand. There was more going on here than he could put his finger on. He nodded his head to the nurse and turned his attention back to Bones.

"I'm sorry." He told her as he pulled her hands from her face. He could see the pain in her eyes. He had hurt her delicate feelings. He reached into his pocket and pulled Jasper out and held him out for her to see. "Look who I found."

"Jasper!" She squeeled as she grabbed the toy pig and sniffled.

Booth turned to the nurse who was now smiling at the display of affection the woman held for not only her toys but the man before her. "When can I take her home?" He asked.

"I see no reason to keep Tempe here any longer. Just make sure she keeps those scrapes clean. Just fill out some papers and we can you two on your way." Gladys explained.

Forty minutes later Booth had filled out the forms and Tempe had her face washed by Gladys. Booth signed the last paper and pocketed the information the ER had given him regarding her wound care as well as signs to watch for a possible concussion. Booth absent-mindedly led Tempe to the exit, his mind running at 100mph to try and process this current turn of events, as he was pulled back to her as she slipped her hand into his.

He gave her a reassuring squeeze as he led her through the ER doors and out into the darkened parking lot. As soon as his SUV came into view Tempe picked up the pace and nearly pulled him along. To his surprise she went to the back seat, not the front passenger's seat. He unlocked the doors and she climbed in with a giggle. She sat in the middle seat and turned to look at him with shining blue eyes, "You take me home now, Boof?" She asked.

Booth reached in and buckled her seatbelt, his eyes never leaving her hopeful expression. His mind had come to a screeching stop as the realization hit him. "Tell me, Princess, how old are you now? Sixteen?" He asked playfully.

She counted the fingers on her hands and held up three, "I this many, Boof! Boof you is silly!" She said with a giggle.

Inwardly, Booth's heart broke. Outwardly he forced a smile, "That's right! You're very smart, Tempe!" He turned and climbed in the driver's side. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his keys. As he pulled out of the parking lot he heard a small voice come from the back seat.

"Boof! Can I go home now?" Tempe asked.

"Sure, Princess, but first we have to stop and get our things." Booth explained.

Tempe seemed to think about what he said and after a moment she shrugged, "okay".

A short while later Booth was unlocking the cabin door as Tempe couldn't seem to keep still. As soon as the door was open, Tempe bolted passed him toward her room. A few minutes later Booth heard the toilet flush. Booth groaned, he should have known the "pee-pee" dance, Parker had barely outgrown it. He popped his head around the corner, "Tempe, I need you to put all your stuff on the bed so we can pack. Can you do that for me?" He asked.

Tempe enthusiastically nodded her head in agreement and began bringing everything to the bed by the armful. Booth returned to the living room, took the cordless phone from the base, and dialed the first of many phone calls he was going to have to make.

After three rings Angela answered the call. "Did you find her?" Angela questioned.

"Yeah, you could say that. We're coming home. I need you to do me a favor and go by Tempe's and pack her an overnight bag and then meet me at my apartment." Booth asked.

"Sure. What's going on Booth? You sound exhausted." Angela asked.

"It's difficult to explain but you'll understand when you see her." Booth offered.

"Boof?!" Boof?!" Tempe called from inside.

"Is that Bren?" Angela asked.

"Look, I got to go. I will call you when I get home." Booth rushed before hanging up the phone.

On the other end Angela was still staring at her phone in utter confusion.

Booth stepped in to the cabin, "What is it, Princess?"

"I not feel good." Tempe said rubbing her belly.

Booth glanced at the clock. "Well, no wonder. You haven't eaten all day. Let's hurry up and pack and we'll stop at a diner for something to eat. Would you like that?" He asked. Brennan grinned brightly for him before dashing off into the bedroom to finish packing.

An hour later, Booth walked the cabin one last time to make sure nothing was forgotten and loaded the last bag into the back of the SUV. He called and made arrangements for Brennan's car to be picked up on Monday and driven to the Jeffersonian. As he pulled out of the state park and onto the highway he looked in the rearview mirror to see Brennan playing with Jasper and Brainy.


	6. Chapter 6

Shattered Chapter 6

Five and half hours, that's how long it took Booth to drive home, including one pit stop for Tempe to eat and one pit stop during which she threw it all back up in the back seat of his SUV. He was pulling into his own neighborhood as he his send on his cell phone and sent a message to Angela, 'almost home'. He pulled into his parking spot and peaked into the backseat where Tempe was sleeping and smiled. She was home and safe, the rest he would deal with as it came. He turned the engine off and gathered his things from the front passenger's seat and stuffed them in his pocket. He climbed out and went around and opened her door.

"Come on, princess. We're home." He urged quietly.

"Boof. I sleepy." She replied rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

"You can sleep once we get you cleaned up. Remember, my friend Angela is going to bring you some clean clothes?" Booth replied as he started grabbing bags from the back of the SUV.

"I forgot." Tempe replied as she undid her seatbelt and bounced out of the back seat with renewed vigor.

Before long, Booth was dropping his bags inside the door and turning on the lights to his apartment. As soon as he had Tempe pushed passed him into the apartment.

"Boof I gots to pee!" She announced as she made her way down the hallway towards the bathroom, unaware of the third person in the room.

"Okay princess." Booth called out as his eyes locked on to a pair of grey eyes staring back at him from the couch. As soon as he heard the door shut he addressed the unexpected visitor, "What are you doing here, Max?"

Max stood up and crossed the room, "What the Hell is wrong with my Tempe and why didn't you call me?"

"Not now, Max." Booth groaned as his phone dinged with a message and he walked towards the kitchen.

"Not good enough, God-damned it!" Max shouted. "What did you do to Tempe?"

"Stop it. I have worked too hard to get her where she is right now. To make a long story short, she believes she is three-years-old. She remembers that I am her friend and she thinks I am looking after her while her mommy and daddy are away." Booth explained.

Max stood there staring at Booth without saying a word. Booth was about to continue explaining but Max put his finger to his mouth indicating that he should be quiet. A moment later Tempe popped into the living room and set her big blue eyes to Max.

"Boof you has lots of friends." She stated plainly before turning her attention to Booth.

"Yes I do. Can you go watch T.V. while we wait for Angela?" Booth responded patiently. Tempe nodded her head and headed back to the living room and began flipping through the channels before settling on cartoons.

"When did she cut her hair? How much have I missed, she didn't recognize me." Max said feeling rejected.

"I wouldn't expect her to. You've had a lot of plastic surgery since she was a small child." Booth replied quietly.

"But she remembers you?" Max countered.

"I can't explain it." Booth replied as he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Ten days ago I was convinced she was doing drugs because she wasn't acting like herself."

"My Tempe wouldn't do drugs!" Max said, getting angry.

"I know that, her toxicology screen was negative, but I couldn't ignore the changes to her personality any other way. She was drinking nightly, getting tattoos, hanging out in bars. . ." Booth hurriedly explained.

"You tested her. You actually doubted my Tempe? Shame on you Booth!" Max scolded. "Something is seriously wrong with her. Tempe's not that good of an actress."

"You don't think I know that." Booth replied as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Before either could speak Temperance came back. "Boof. You call my daddy now? I has a ouchie." She announced.

Booth turned to look at Tempe and noted she looked flushed. "Are you going to be sick again?" He asked gently as he placed his hand on her forehead.

Max smiled at the term of endearment, even if she didn't realize that he was her daddy. It amazed him how quickly Booth went from frustrated to nurturing, a sign of his devotion to his daughter Max thought. Tempe shook her head and pointed to her forehead, "In here, hurts in here, Boof."

Booth turned and went into the cabinet above the refrigerator and pulled down the Tylenol and handed two to Temperance with a glass of water. Once she had taken them he handed her some crackers and instructed her to lay down on the couch. With Tempe once again settled he turned his tired face back to Max.

"I have Sweets coming over in the morning to see her. Maybe we will get some answers then." Booth explained.

"Alright, but I expect you to keep me in the loop and call me if anything changes." Max gave in.

"I will." Was all Booth could reply as he started walking Max to the door.

Max made a small detour to say goodbye to his daughter. She was lying on the couch with her arm over her eyes and the T.V. turned down low. "It was nice to meet you Tempe." Max said, forcing a smile. Temperance didn't uncover her eyes but reached up a hand to wave at him. Max paused as he was going out of the door.

"She likes tomato soup with milk in it instead of water and peanut butter and banana sandwiches." Max informed him with a sad smile.

Booth was about to shut the door when he saw Angela making her way up the hall. She stopped to talk to Max but he barely paused and gave her the same sad smile.

"What was that about?" Angela asked as she entered Booth's apartment. Booth took a deep breath and released it slowly, shaking his head. "You look exhausted. When was the last time you slept?" She asked.

"It's been a while. Did you bring what I asked?" Booth replied as he made his way back to the kitchen to see if he had any tomato soup.

"Yeah. I took some time to clean up her place while I was waiting for you to get back. Man, she did a number on it." Angela said with a whistle. "Where is she? I want to see her? Is she okay?" Angela began firing off questions.

Deciding it was easier to just show her, he started walking towards the living room. "Tempe, we have another guest. You remember I told you about my friend, Angela?" He called in a sweet voice.

"Boof I sleepy. We play later." Tempe sleepily slurred from under a pillow she had now placed over her face.

"I know princess, but you need to wash up and put on clean clothes. You still have yucky in your hair." Booth explained as he took the pillow away from her. Angela watched the interaction in silence, not sure what to make of it. Yes that was Brennan's voice, just higher pitched and more relaxed like she were drunk.

Her eyes scanned the room and fell on the face of her once best friend, now forgotten. Her sleepy eyes now wide with intrigue narrowed thoughtfully at the newcomer. "You pretty." Tempe said shyly as she came to stand behind Booth. Reaching out she took his hand in hers.

Angela blushed as she stood for a loss of words at her best friend's behavior. Booth turned and looked at Tempe. "Why don't you see what she brought you while I run your bath, okay princess." Tempe nodded her head as Angela went to grab her overnight bag. Angela brought the bag over to the couch as Booth slipped from the room. Angela stood and stared at the space that had occupied Booth. She was stunned.

Angela sat on the couch opposite of Tempe and the bag between them. Tempe picked up a pillow and held it in her lap. "Do you know who I am?" Angela asked.

Tempe shook her head, "No" a little voice replied as she hid her face behind the pillow.

That little voice broke her heart. Her best friend did not know who she was. Angela quickly put the pieces of the puzzle together; she worked at the Jeffersonian for a reason. "How old are you Sweetie?"

Brennan's hand came up and she held out three fingers, "I this many! See?" Brennan's voice a little louder this time.

"Do you want to see what I have?" Angela asked, her voice teasing. Tempe nodded her head. Angela began pulling items from the bag and laying them out for her to see. "What would you like to wear to bed?" She asked.

"Dat one." Tempe said as she pointed to the pink fluffy pajama pants and over-sized tee shirt with a teddy bear on it.

"Okay." Angela replied as she pulled a pair of socks and underwear from the bag. "Let's put the rest of your stuff away." Angela zipped the bad and headed for Parker's room. She opened the door and turned on the lights.

"Ooh, toys." Temperance said gleefully as she took in the room around her. "My room?" She asked.

"Well, this is usually Parker's room but we are going to borrow it for a couple of days." Angela explained.

"I not break anything!" Tempe responded by making an 'x' across her chest. "Promise".

Angela couldn't help but giggle as Brennan's display. Once upon a time Brennan was a normal child who did normal child-like things, she thought. A pang a guilt hit her at the realization that somewhere along the lines in her childhood that something seriously wrong had happened that this person was locked away forever.

Tempe was playing with a toy robot as Booth entered the doorway and leaned against it. Angela caught his gaze and he gave her a similar sad smile that Max had. Booth watched her play for a few minutes before clearing his throat and announcing, "bath time."

Angela took Tempe to the bathroom and shut the door. Her friend was never shy about her own body but she didn't give a second thought to stripping down naked and leaving her dirty clothes in a pile before climbing in the tub. Booth already had left Parker's toys and tear free shampoo in the edge of the tub for her. "Okay, I'm going to let you play for a little but while I talk to Booth, okay?" Angela asked and Tempe nodded as she made a rubber shark swim through the soapy water.

Angela found Booth sitting in the kitchen with his head in his hands. He had sent Sweets a text telling him he 'better be at his apartment first thing in the morning' and to 'bring bananas' with him. Sweets had sent several texts messages and called after that but Booth was ignoring them all.

"Booth?" Angela called out to him.

He lifted his head and looked at her. "Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Yeah. I always knew Brennan was hyper, but damn, how much coffee has she had?" Angela asked trying to lighten the mood. Booth chuckled half heartedly. "Has she been like that since you found her?" Angela asked.

Booth shook his head. "When I first got there she was not herself but she was not like this. She was calling herself Tammy." Booth explained as he ran his hand through his hair. "At first I thought she was just using that name to hide but now it seems more like she is exhibiting split personality disorder." Booth began pacing the room. "That first night things were going well. She had opened up to me somewhat. I went to go get some food to make breakfast and when I returned she was gone. By the time I caught up with her again she was like this." He explained pointing to the bathroom.

Angela was about to reply when Tempe's voice came from the bathroom, "Angie is you coming back?"

Angela entered the bathroom and sat down next to the tub. Using a cup she began to wet Tempe's hair when the acrid odor hit her. "Did you get sick, Sweetheart?" Angela asked as she began to work the shampoo into her hair.

Tempe nodded, "I sorry."

She sounded so sad that Angela's heart broke. "It's okay. We're going to wash it all away."

Brennan stared off into nothing, daydreaming Angela presumed, while they finished the bath. Now clean and dry Angela helped her dress for bed and brush her teeth. She helped her brush her hair and as the brush went passed on the left Tempe winced and pulled away.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" Angela asked.

"No, I gots an ouchie, I fell down." Tempe replied pointing to just behind her left ear.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Angela soothed as she parted her hair to reveal a nasty purple bruise on the back of Temperance's head.

Finally done Angela lead a sleep Temperance Brennan to the living room so she could say goodnight to Booth and maybe they both could get some sleep. Booth was leaning against the counter reading a file when they emerged. _You can do this,_ he repeated in his head as he forced a smile to his face that did not reach his eyes.

"Boof, you call my daddy?" Tempe asked.

 _What the Hell,_ Booth thought as he took his cell phone and dialed Max.

Max answered after the first ring, "Booth, what's wrong?"

"Good evening to you too. Tempe wanted to talk to her Daddy before she goes to bed." Booth said sweetly as he handed the phone to Brennan.

"Daddy?" Tempe asked excitedly in the phone.

"Hello Sweetheart. Are you being a good girl for Booth while I am away?" Max asked.

Tempe nodded her head and muttered "uh-huh".

"Good." Max praised her.

"Daddy, when u coming to get me?" Tempe asked, tears threatening to spill from their crystal depths.

"Soon sweetheart. The Teacher's Conference will be done in a couple of days and then I will drive back and get you. Okay?" Max lied. Tempe shook her head, no, and sniffled but she did not speak. Hearing her sniffle he asked, "What's wrong Princess?" God his heart was breaking right now.

"I no have Einstein. I not sleep without Einstein." Tempe cried.

Booth looked on not knowing how to rectify the situation. Who was Einstein? He chanced a look at Angela and could see the wheels in her brain working.

"Aw, honey. It's okay. Don't cry. Daddy will bring you a bigger bear when I get there, okay." Max soothed. He knew exactly who Einstein was but he hadn't seen that damn bear in twenty years. Max listened as the tears began to subside and a yawn came through the line. "Daddy loves you Sweetheart. It's time for little girls to go to bed now." Max continued to soothe.

Booth watched as Brennan's tears slowed and she let out a yawn, nodding at the phone as if Max could see her agreeing with him. Her eyes looked around until they locked in on Booth. She stood and brought the phone to him.

"Boof" she called as she handed him the phone. Booth took the phone as he watched Tempe stroll off in the direction of Parker's room.

"Thanks Max." Booth said once Tempe was out of hearing range. "She's been asking for you since I found her." Booth explained.

"My pleasure Booth. It was unexpected but a beautiful moment none the less. I should be thanking you." Max replied.

"Okay, so who is Einstein?" Booth asked.

"That damn bear. She got it for Christmas the year she turned three. It is tan with a white belly and a blue bow. We screwed up when he gave them to the kids. Tempe was supposed to get the one with the pink bow but we accidentally switched them. Russell still has that damn dark brown bear with a pink bow too. Maybe he knows where Tempe's is." Max rambled.

"Goodnight Max." Booth said with a chuckle. Max barely registered Booth's words as the call was disconnected. Booth sighed and looked at Angela as she crept from the spare bedroom.

"She's sleeping." Angela said as she came to sit next to Booth. "I will run and get Einstein and bring him over." Angela stood to grab her purse.

"You know about Einstein and I don't?" Booth asked, more curious than offended.

"The only time I ever saw him was the night you died and the days following. I saw a glimpse of this scared little girl then." Angela replied sadly.

Checking to be sure Tempe was asleep he crept into her make-shift room and peaked down at her. She looked like she was out cold. Booth nodded and turned the baby monitor in the room on, now grateful he had left them in even though Parker really didn't need them anymore. Returning to his room he turned on his end of the monitoring system and climbed into the shower.

Pulling on his sweatpants he thought he heard the faintest of a knocking. He clipped the monitor on to his waist as he crept down the hallway. The soft knocking repeated and he opened the door to Angela.

She smiled as she looked him over from head to toe. Pointing to the baby monitor clipped to his pants, "Is that standard FBI issue now?" Angela teased.

"Parker's." Booth replied curtly. He was exhausted and not up for Angela's games tonight.

Angela seemed to pick up on this as she presented him with a tan teddy bear with a blue ribbon around its neck. "May I present Einstein, Brennan's first best friend."

Booth took the worn bear and noted that someone had made extensive repairs to the stuffed animal, probably Brennan herself. He couldn't help but give a half smile at the image of Brennan sewing the bear together. He would buy her hundred bears if it would make her happy but none would probably mean as much to her as this one worn out old bear.

"Thanks Ange." Booth replied gratefully.

"I was ganna offer to sleep on the couch to help keep an eye on little miss hyper in there but you seem to have it covered." Angela explained as she began to walk down the hall. "Get some sleep Booth you look like shit" she called as she disappeared around the corner.

Booth locked the door and checked all the windows. When he got to Parker's room he crept inside and tucked Einstein in with Tempe. She immediately seized the bear and smile, drool pooling at the corner of her mouth. Finished checking the windows he smoothed the hair from her face and gave her the faintest kiss on her forehead.

"I love you Tempe and I am with you all the way." He whispered.

Leaving the door cracked open and the nightlights on he made his way to his own bed. Nearly collapsing on himself in exhaustion he was asleep within minutes of his head hitting the pillow.


	7. Chapter 7

Shattered Chapter 7

Giggles. That was the first thing Booth heard as he woke up, giggles, and he smiled at the thought. Dr. Temperance Brennan was in his living room watching cartoons and giggling like a . . . his smile faded as the reality of the situation came back to him. He rubbed his face and looked at the clock. It was barely six am. With a slight groan he forced himself to his feet and made his way down the hall to the living room where Tempe half sat and half laid upside down with her feet over the back of the coach as she watched Porky Pig and Daffy Duck with Einstein.

"Boof, you is awake!" She called merrily to him.

"Don't Princesses sleep in?" He asked playfully as he continued to make his way to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

"You is silly Boof!" She replied as she climbed down from the couch and followed him into the kitchen. She rocked back and forth on her feet and watched him with big blue eyes.

Booth couldn't help but chuckle at her. "You got ants in your pants this morning?" He teased as he closed the lid on the coffee pot.

In typical Brennan fashion she pulled her waist band away from her stomach and looked down in her pants. "No Boof, I no see ants in my pants."

"Never mind." Booth said quietly as he shook his head.

"Boof, I is hungry." Tempe announced.

"What would you like to eat?" Booth asked as he opened the fridge.

"Peanut butter and jelly on toast." She responded as if that was the only rational thing to eat at this hour of the morning. Booth pulled the peanut butter down and grabbed the strawberry jelly from the fridge. Brennan's eyes narrowed on the red jar. "Eww!" She complained.

"What?" Booth asked.

"I no like red jelly, I like purple jelly!" Tempe said in a huff.

"I don't have grape jelly, princess. You're going to have to make do with strawberry or none until we go shopping." Booth explained.

"You got nanners? I like nanners!" Tempe asked as she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.

"Sorry, no. Have you ever tried strawberry jelly?" He asked as he followed her out of the kitchen back to the living room.

Before Tempe could answer there was a light knock on the door. Booth walked over wondering who was at his door so early. Checking the peep hole first he unlocked the doors to let Sweets in.

Sweets barely greeted Booth with a "Morning" before shoving a bundle of bananas at him. Taking the bananas to the kitchen he called out, "Tempe, we got nanners. You want peanut butter and nanners on toast?" No immediate response came but Booth went on the make the sandwich anyway as a very confused Sweets looked on, silently studying the interaction between the partners.

The sandwich now complete Booth took the plate to the living room and found Brennan had resumed watching cartoons upside down with Einstein. She was sitting there with a vacant expression on her face and seemed lost. Booth called her name three times before she seemed to realize he was there. When she finally acknowledged him she seemed tired and reached out for the plate.

"Nope. Sit up right to eat." Booth instructed.

Sweets watched from the kitchen as Brennan swung her legs around and her messy auburn hair came into view. Her head bounced left and right as she happily took the plate. Booth smiled as he returned to the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee and offered one to Sweets.

"Is that Dr. Brennan?" Sweets asked after taking a sip.

Booth eyed the young doctor. He knew Lance was afraid of him that was obvious, but he could see the hesitation that Lance was trying to hide. Booth didn't want the younger man simply studying his partner from a distance, he wanted him to do something, anything to help Temperance.

"Yes and you are going to fix her" Booth commanded as he lead him back to the living room.

"What?" Lance replied as he was being shoved towards the couch.

"You broke her. You fix her." Booth ordered as he shoved Lance to the living room. "I'll be in the shower."

Lance sat down in the chair across from the couch and observed Dr. Brennan as she ate her toast. She was still in her pajamas and her curly hair was still unruly from sleep. She didn't make eye contact with him and he could tell that she was uncomfortable with his presence but the lure of the cartoons displayed on the flat screen in front of her was enough to keep her from retreating. Lance decided to engage her in conversation. Booth has said she was 'broke' and he needed to determine how so if he had any hope of fixing things and preventing Booth's wrath from raining down on him.

Lance cleared his throat, "Good morning Dr. Brennan." He greeted her. Her eyes barely darted in his direction and then back to the T.V. There was no recognition in her eyes at the name. "How are you this morning? Did you sleep well?" He tried again. Again she looked at him briefly and then back to the TV. Temperance Brennan was a master at ignoring people and avoiding subjects that she didn't wish to breach. Both Brennan and Booth had mastered avoiding Lance's questions.

Deciding for a more straight forward approach Lance cleared his throat again. "Dr. Brennan is there a reason you're not speaking to me?" He asked, positioning himself in front of the T.V.

"Who is you talking to?" Tempe answered in a little voice behind big blue eyes. "My daddy says not to talk to strangers."

Momentarily taken off guard, Sweets returned to the chair and sat. His mind ran with this little bit of information. Dr. Brennan did not recognize herself as such. Dr. Sweets sat with his mouth hanging open for a minute as he heard Booth's words in his head, _fix her_.

Lance took a deep breath and started over. He reached out his hand and turned off the television. Her annoyed eyes landed directly on his face. Lance smiled at her. "I'm Dr. Sweets. What's your name?" He asked.

Tempe considered him for a minute. "I am Princess Tempe." She replied with a giggle.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess Tempe." Lance replied with an exaggerated bow. "How old are you, Princess Tempe?"

Holding up three fingers proudly she replied, "I dis many!" She reached forward and grabbed a second piece of toast.

"What do you have there?" Sweets asked.

"Peanut butter and nanners. Boof not have purple jelly." She announced as she took another bite.

"Purple jelly?" Sweets asked and Brennan nodded her head enthusiastically.

"He has red jelly, but that not real jelly." Booth heard Brennan complain as he came out of the bedroom.

"It's strawberry jelly and there is nothing wrong with it." Booth countered.

Brennan turned and climbed so she was leaning on the back of the couch. "It yucky and have wittle hard tingies in it" she explained with a wrinkle of her nose, "it not real jelly."

"They're called seeds and it is so real jelly." Booth replied.

Sweets watched the interaction between the pair and the strong bond they had forged with one another. Brennan believed she was three years old and even in her three year old mind she trusted him explicitly.

"Go get dressed, princess." Booth instructed as he turned to go in the kitchen.

Sweets watched as Brennan disappeared down the hall. Following Booth Sweets went into the kitchen.

"Well?" Booth asked.

"How many personalities has she demonstrated?" Lance cautiously asked.

"Including her normal self, three." Booth replied. "So, I am right with thinking multiple personality disorder here?"

Sweets thought about it for a minute before replying. "Signs of multiple personality disorder usually show at a younger age than this but emotional duress is known for bringing it on. But like I said, usually this is with college age students under stress and looking back there are usually symptoms going back further than that. I would like to get an MRI of her brain and look into medication and hypnotherapy." Sweets explained.

"Oh no. You're not going to study here like some lab rat." Booth said with a dangerous edge to his voice.

Before Sweets could respond there was a dash of feet on the carpet and the sounds of retching could be heard. "Hypnotherapy . . ." Booth muttered as he threw a dish towel into the sink on his way to check on Tempe.

Booth opened the bathroom door to find Tempe had thrown up and was now sitting on the bathroom floor crying. Booth helped her clean up and then sat her on the couch. Sweets watched as Booth cared for Brennan and realized that this man's love for this woman was so great he would take care of her no matter her circumstance and he had better find a solution or Booth was going to shoot him for real.

Booth took out his cell phone and dialed Cam. She answered on the third ring and Booth didn't wait for her to greet him. "Cam, I need you to come look at Tempe she's sick."

"Where are you?" She asked.

"My place." He replied.

"I'll be right over." Cam replied quickly.

Booth hung up the phone. "Schedule your MRI and we'll talk about therapy later." Booth dismissed Lance. Sweets wasted no time in leaving and putting distance between himself and Booth's frustration.

After Lance left Booth went over to check on Brennan. He touched her forehead and she didn't feel like she was running a fever. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "I sorry I made yucky again. I didn't mean it." She said lethargically.

"It's alright Princess. My friend Cam is going to come over and check on you." Booth soothed. "How are you feeling now?" He asked.

"I have ouchie here." She replied pointing to her head.

"Close your eyes and try to rest." Booth said as he rubbed her back.

Twenty minutes later Booth heard a knock at the door. Tempe was asleep on the couch and he had just finished a bowl of cereal for himself. He placed his bowl in the sink and made his way to the door.

"Hey Cam, come on in." He greeted as he opened the door and let her in.

"You hung up before I could ask how she was sick, so I wasn't sure what to bring with me." She replied as she toted a large bag with her. "Where is she?" She asked.

"Laying in the sofa, napping." He said quietly as he locked the door.

Cam made her way to over to Brennan and was about to wake her up when Booth stopped her hand from reaching out. "Let me wake her. She likely won't recognize you and I don't want her to get upset again." He explained.

"Why don't you tell me what's going on first." Cam offered as she backed away.

"She's been throwing up everything she eats for at least the last two days. She also complains of a headache." Booth explained. Cam nodded her head and looked on as Booth bent down and ran his hand up and down on Brenan's back. "Tempe, time to get up." He soothed.

"I sleepy Boof." Brennan's little voice squeeked.

"I know princess, but my friend is here to help you with your ouchie." Booth explained.

At the thought of another person to meet Brennan's eyes popped open and searched the room, finally falling on the eyes of the lady in the room. She sat up and continued to stare at the newcomer.

"Tempe, this is Dr. Cam. She is going to help you. Okay?" Booth cooed.

"I not ganna get a shot, am I?" Tempe asked with a pout on her lips.

Cam's eyes shot back and forth between Brennan and Booth and tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Booth had yet to explain the odd behavior between the two but her mind was beginning to catch up without it. "No, Tempe. No shot today." Cam eased into the conversation.

Tempe shrugged, "okay."

Cam took out her stethoscope and pressed it to Brennan's chest and listened. Seeing that Tempe was doing okay he excused himself to the bathroom. When he returned Cam was writing out a prescription on her pad.

"Well?" Booth asked.

"I am sending you to go pick up some Zofran from the pharmacy. It will help with the nausea and the headache is likely from dehydration from throwing up, but. . . " Cam stalled.

"But what? Cam?" Booth asked as he slipped on his shoes.

"Her blood pressure is high, I mean like really high." Cam explained.

"How high is really high?" Booth replied as he checked to be sure he had his wallet and keys.

"176/114" Cam said with a cringe. "What she taking anything for high blood pressure?" Cam asked.

"No. This is Bones we're talking about here, you know the vegetarian who is always on me about a poor diet. There is no way her pressure should be like that." Booth said as he looked back towards the living room. Brennan sat on the couch watching cartoons.

"It doesn't seem right to me either. The rest of her vitals are normal. She's not even running a fever. Elevated BP will make you sick to the stomach and cause dizziness and headaches." Cam offered with a sympathetic smile as Booth slipped out the door to pick up the medicine Cam had prescribed.

Forty minutes later Booth slid his key into the door and let himself back in. He walked straight to the living room and found Cam sitting on the coffee table in front of Tempe who was staring out the window again. He was about to smile at the scene until Cam's worried expression came into view.

"What took so long, Seeley? I was about to call you and tell you I am calling an ambulance." Cam said in a rush as she stood and made her way to him.

"I had to go to two different pharmacies. Why?" Booth explained.

Cam took his hand and led him to stand in front of Tempe. Pointing at Brennan she asked, "How long has she been doing that!?"

"Booth looked at Tempe who was staring out of the window. "I'm not sure, definitely since I picked her up from the hospital. She's just daydreaming, Cam. Parker does it all the time. What's the matter?" Booth asked, his anger that he may have missed something mixing with his confusion of what he was not seeing.

Cam waved her hand slowly in front of Brenan's face and received no reaction. She pointed to Tempe's eyes. "See this? Her head may be turned in that direction but look at her eyes, they are turned to the left and up. Her pupils are little." She shined her pen light in her eyes. "There is almost no reaction. Her posture is slumped. At this moment she is completely unaware of the world around her no matter what you do." To prove a point, she took a needle out of her bag and gently pricked the skin of Tempe's hand.

Booth stood and watched a few more minutes when Tempe's eyes slid closed and she started to fall forward. Cam caught her by the shoulders and eased her down to the floor on her right side. "This is a focal seizure, Seeley. She'll now be tired and sleep. Depending on the cause of the seizure they will throw up. She needs to go to the hospital." Cam finished.

Booth was about to stoop over and pick Brennan up off the couch when Cam shook her head. "Call the ambulance, Booth. She could go into a Gran Mal seizure at any time and you don't want to risk that on the interstate." Cam offered quietly.

"What are you not telling me, Cam?" Booth asked, hit gut telling him that she was keeping something from him.

Cam brushed the hair from the back of her left ear revealing the dark purple bruise. "She has clear fluid in her left ear canal indicating leakage of cerebrospinal fluid." Cam revealed.

Booth nodded his head in understanding as he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed 9-1-1. The next forty-five minutes went by in a blur as he answered questions for EMS and again for the Emergency Department. He was left filling out paperwork when the wheeled Brennan back and said they would call him once she was settled.

He was still waiting when the rest of the team joined him in the waiting room. Cam must have called Angela who in turn called everyone else. He felt a weight on his shoulder and looked up as his eyes met with those of Max. Both men shared the same worried expression.

"Booth." A man dressed in blue scrubs called. Booth stood and the man came forward and handed the clip board he was carrying to him. "Let's talk somewhere more private." The man explained as he led Booth to a small room just off the waiting room. Before he could close the door to the little room Max slipped in.

"He may be her Medical Proxy, but I am her father." Max said with a glare as he took the seat next to Booth.

"My name is Dr. Gomez I am a Neurosurgeon. Ms. Brennan is being prepped for surgery." The doctor began to explained but was cut off.

"Doctor." Corrected the two men in the room.

"Her name is Dr. Brennan." Booth furthered.

Dr. Gomez nodded. "Dr. Brennan is being prepped for surgery. MRI scans show an intracranial bleed. I need you to sign consent for the procedure to happen.

"What happens if she doesn't get the surgery?" Max asked.

"The bleed will continue to worsen and eventually cause death." The doctor explained.

 _Death._ That was all Booth had to hear as he signed the papers and handed the clip board back.

"Thank you." The doctor replied as he stood. "They are waiting for me in the OR. I will have a nurse come and show you to surgical waiting." Dr. Gomez started to go for the door.

"Can I see her?" Booth asked quickly.

"I'm sorry. She is already in the OR and waiting for me to return." Dr. Gomez apologized.

"You're sure you can fix this? How long will this take?" Max asked.

"Six hours, maybe more. It is hard to say until I get in there." Dr. Gomez responded, choosing not to answer the other question, and left.

Booth and Max emerged from the room to the expectant eyes of their family.

Cam approached them, "What did he say?"

"Intracranial bleed. He is not sure how extensive the damage is. She is going to surgery as we speak." Max explained carefully glancing over to Booth who seemed to be in shock.

Cam gasped, "This is not good." She whispered. Seeing Booth stiffen at her words she regretted saying them.

Moments later a nurse came and showed them to the Surgical Waiting Area on the second floor and the eclectic family settled in for a long wait. Booth glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 2:37 PM now. "Six hours." He mumbled as he ran his hands through his hair.


End file.
